


Redemption

by TheBaggins



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Captain America (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, Flashbacks, Gen, Humor, Hurt Bucky, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Tony Stark, Lots of internal monologues, Mix of Cartoon and MCU, No Smut, Pre-Canon, Steve looks for Bucky, Tony learns the truth, Unresolved Tension, tort - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 19:13:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 27,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8172794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBaggins/pseuds/TheBaggins
Summary: Post-Capt 2, I started writing this before Age of Ultron or Civil war, just using info from teasers, the writers and from the Cartoon and Comics. So some of it is canon most is what i thought would happen.Two weeks after the events of the Winter Soldier, Steve decideds to go looking for Bucky. He deplyoes Sam's help. Meanwhile, Bucky goes through the transition of finding out who he really is, what has happened to him.Steve asks for Tony's help but hides the truth about his parents from himShit will go downPre-civil war (accidentaly)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this very early on before Civil war or even Ultron. I was trying to incorporate elements from them from what I read and saw and tried to go through the waiting for the films by writing a version of what I thought would happen.  
> I have used elements from Avengers Assemble (because damn that show is good) and from the Comics (esp Civil War), also stuff from Agents of Shield and Agent Carter.  
> It's all small chapters few pages each

REDEMPTION

It was about two weeks since Steve was pulled out of the sea, badly hurt and exhausted. It was two weeks since he had left the hospital fully recovered. He could have left that same day, since his system had this amazing ability of rapid recovery and healing, but Natasha, Sam and oh yes, Fury, insisted on him staying. The truth was that he wasnt feeling at all well. Physically he was alright; but mentally? That was an entirely different subject.   
Bucky. His stomach got tied into a knot whenever he thought of Bucky. With everything that had happened since he first encountered him on that street, what with all the events and the speed with which they unfolded, he hadn't had much time to think about Bucky and his situation. Images of his confused and angry face came to his mind whenever he closed his eyes, but with all the doctors, their tests and the visits from the others (mainly Sam) he didn't have time to put his thoughts in proper order.   
For a while he was still trying to put his finger on the fact that his best friend, whom he thought had died, was still alive. Then he had to process that he had been brainwashed, experimented on and God knows what else- and become a killing machine for HYDRA. His best friend, his constant companion had become evil. No! Not evil. Steve refused to believe this. He didn't at first, and he wouldn't now. Bucky was not himself. He had no choice, no saying in what he did. The man Steve knew would never do those horrible things, not in his right mind. Bucky was a good man. After all, in the end Steve could swear he recognized him. Even for a moment Bucky's old self surfaced and he recognized him. He didn't finish him off and then he saved him. Like he always did.   
Even in his bewildered situation, Bucky had saved him from drowning. He did not abandon him. Not like Steve had abandoned him, when he fell from that train. He never went looking for him and HYDRA found him instead. He could have tried to at least search for his body to bury but he dind't get to do that. What would be the point? No, this attitude wouldn't help. The past had to be left with the past. Steve was there now. He was determined to find Bucky. This time he would look for him, no matter the cost. He made that decision the moment he gained conciousness in that hospital, now all he had to do was make it happen.  
But where was Winter Soldier now? 

Steve was sitting on his couch back in his apartment holding the file Natasha gave him before they parted. The Winter Soldier, Classified, it read. Everything that had happened to Bucky after he fell was in there. The operations, the experiments, the metal arm, the missions, years of that cruel life and all of the assassinations. Steve had only managed to read halfway through the file. At least for now. All he kept thinking was how he would be able to find Bucky and bring him back. He was lost, confused and probably dangerous, but mostly in need of help. In need of a friend, of someone to guide him and help him adjust.   
Steve was certain Fury would start looking for him sooner or later, when he sorted his own problems out, for his many different reasons, and so would the secret services sooner or later, but he had to find him first. Since got the file Steve did one or two short trips to places Bucky used to hang out in the old days, but nothing, no sign of him. He wasn't surprised. In his condition Bucky would hardly remember. However, Steve was now fully recovered, had done his homework (well, most of it) and was determined to continue the search, this time better organized.   
He considered asking Natasha for help, but she had her own worries right now. In any case, this was something he had to do alone. And even if it got nowhere he could ask Stark to give him a hand. He had access, or could get access to many files, classified or not, and resources, that could give them a hint of the Winter Soldier's whereabouts. He also had Sam. He was the only person he could rely on for help at the moment. He didn't have to create a new cover, or rebuilt a huge secret organization. Yes, Sam was a friend he never anticipated of making. Steve was glad he'd found him. He never thought he'd be able to call someone a friend again with the full meaning of the term, but after all they went through together, it's difficult not to become friends. He knew he could count on Sam, just as he knew he could count on Romanoff.  
Nevertheless, he missed Bucky. Back in the old days he was his only friend. And now he was the only one that reminded him of that time. There was Peggy of course, but the Peggy he knew, that amazing woman who had inspired him and helped him so many times, was not longer the same. She had faded away and became more and more absent by the day. Steve's heart was breaking each time he visited her. Almost every time they ended up having the exact same discussion. She wasn't well, he knew that, and he hated that he couldn't do anything to help her, to make her feel better. The only thought that gave him courage was that Peggy had had a wonderful life. She helped found SHIELD, she made a family, lived her life to the fullest; and it was a happy one. This thought made Steve smile. There wasn't much he could do for her now apart from being there for her. And he intended to. As soon as he found Bucky he'd be by her side whenever she needed him.  
Steve yawned. He was tired. He decided he would finish the file tomorrow. He had to act fast if he wanted to find Bucky. He may be confused, but his skills remain, and if he wants to disappear he damn sure can. Steve had to start looking as soon as possible. With that thought and the hope of results, he went to sleep.

Some miles away, near the other side of the city, a little girl was swearing to her father that the strange man she saw from the window moving in the shadows as silently and swiftly as a cat, had a metal arm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter Soldier does some introspection

Bucky. Who the hell is Bucky? That name.. Was it really his name? The Winter Soldier was leaning against a wall, hiding in the shadows, as the memories from the past events came back to him. That man, calling him Bucky, their encounter, had stirred something inside of him. He didnt know exactly what, and at the time he was too busy and angry to try and find out… but when that man called him Bucky, he hesitated. For one moment, just a second, he hesitated. He didnt shoot him. That hesitation saved the man. The Winter Soldier fled. That event, it was confusing. He had to leave... But he kept wondering about him...Until they made him sit on that chair again. Then the pain took all the questions away.  
And then there he was again. Insisting they were once friends.  
He didn't even know his name. He didn't have to know anyone's name before. All he had to do was kill them. However, he didn't manage to kill that man. That Captain America guy, with the blue and red suit and the shield.The man who gave him a name and claimed to know him. Even when he tried again he couldn't finish him off.   
It's not that he wasn't strong enough, no, that wasn't it. The man was a worthy adversary, yes, but this was not the reason. Something inside him stopped him, something was triggered. A sudden flow of memories had overwhelmed him. Memories that felt like they belonged to someone else. Then that man threw his shield down, removed his helmet and refused to fight him. Your name, is James Buchanan Barnes, you're my friend , he'd said. The words pierced through his mind like bullets. They made him hurt. His head was bursting as suddenly, everything he knew was falling apart. He felt as if he had been in a dream the entire time and was slowly waking up only to realize that none of it was ever real, that same feeling as having the ground under your feet removed all of a sudden.  
It scared him, it infuriated him. It made him so angry. That was the only emotion he knew how to respond to. Anger and hate. He had to stop it. He had to shut that man up. He had to... And that's what he did. He punched him again and again as if this would stop the thoughts that were taking over, the doubts, as if by beating him would make everything go back to the way they were. But it didn't and the doubts remained. Not only that, he had flashes of the man standing opposite him, he didn't know when that was happening , if it was a real memory or something his mind was making up to torment him, but like once upon a dream he just saw him repeating the exact same words he was saying right there and then: “I'm with you till the end of the line” .   
So that was it, he couldn't finish the mission, he couldn't kill him. He just couldn't. He remembered the man -in his memory he was scrawny-, talking to him, hugging him goodbye, getting beat up in an alley by someone; that guy was his friend. Steve. The name suddenly came in his mind and he couldn't explain how he knew it but he was certain his name was Steve.  
But he didn'thave more time to dwell upon the memory, the piece of metal -the unconcious now- Captain America was on , collapsed and took him with it in the water. He dove after him and dragged him to the shore. He didn't know if he intended to kill him when he dove in, take advantage of the situation and make sure he completed the mission. Or if he inteded to save him fromt the start, like he did. Once he dove in the water he had one thought left in his mind; find out who he really was, and that man named Steve might prove to be important for that search. The Winter Soldier had the suspicion that if he found out exactly who Captain America was, he'd find out who he himself was. It was obvious they were somehow connected.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve goes to Sam for help

Steve woke up suddenly feeling very upset for some reason. He had a troubled sleep. Bucky calling his name was coming in and out of his dreams, giant aliens coming out of the sky and images of his past made it impossible to have a moment's calm sleep. The electric clock beside him read 04:30. There was no point trying to sleep again.  
He got up and decided to make breakfast. In the meantime he read more from the file Natasha had given him. Apparently the Winter Soldier was being frozen and unfrozen from time to time to be assigned on missions only he could pull off. Everything in the file was confusing , some information was coded, there was never much mentioned about the people involved, it had mission reports, progress reports and descriptions of what was done to him. That last part was particularly disturbing, he couldn't bare the thought of his friend being subdued to the procedures described in the file. He could made little sense of the methods mentioned and even if he could he doubted they could help him find Bucky any faster. There had to be another way... Eventually he gave up, closed the file and decided to go for a run. Maybe he could put everything in order that way or come up with a plan of some sorts. Or maybe someone could help him with the file...  
.  
Sam was in deep sleep when the doorbell rang. He got up feeling particularly grumpy since he had just been woken up from a great dream. He didnt remember what it was but it was good. Whoever was ringing that bell would regret it.  
“Of course it's you” Sam mumbled when a wild Steve appear behind the door. “My doorbell rings at 6:30 on a Sunday morning, I don't know who I expected to see.”  
Steve smiled apologeticaly. “Good morning Grumpy” . Without expecting any further invitation he walked into the appartement. It was the same small appartement that not too long ago had provided shelter for him and Natasha. Ever since he felt a wave of familiarity overcome him whenever he entered.  
“Yeah you'd be grumpy too if you missed at least two good hours of sleep” Sam replied. He closed the door and turned to Steve.  
“Uh oh. You have a look on your face” He saw once his eyes met Steve's. “I don't like that look. I dunno what you have in your mind but I dont like it.”  
“What ? I don't have a look “  
“Yeah right”.  
“It's good to see you too Sam,” Steve said slapping Sam's shoulder.  
“Yeah yeah good to see you. Sure. At least this time your face doesn't look like crap anymore”  
“Yeah well, I'm ok now. I've fully recovered”.  
“That's what you say but you don't look that ok to me. I mean you're still big and ….well, practicaly perfect, but no offense, you look like a mess.”  
“Thanks for that. To be honest Sam I wanted to talk to you about something. That's why I came here… so early. Sorry about that.”  
“Right. Forgiven.Who needs sleep anyway? Come on in, sit down. I'll make some coffee and breakfast. I suppose you don't need coffee. Well I'll make some for myself.”  
“No thanks I'm good, you go ahead” Steve sat down and left the Winter Soldier file on the table. He tried to think of a way to bring the news to Sam as smoothly as possible. This wasnt going to be easy.  
“So...uhm....” he started, while Sam joined him carrying a big tray.  
“Yeah I'm listening. Spit it out.”  
“Look I'm just gonna say it straight out. I need your help to find someone. You don't have to do much if you don't wanna. I just need you to look at this file and see if you can get something out of it. Something I might have missed, a lead or anyting that will tell us where he is.”  
“And I assume that someone is the same guy who almost beat you to death on a helicarrier not so long ago? Is he by any chance a lethal super-soldier with amnesia?”  
“Uhm yep.” Steve smiled.  
“Great.” said Sam, rolling his eyes. “You're crazy.”  
“Come on, Sam. Please, just hear me out, ok? I only want you to read the file. It's all I'm asking. I'll do the rest. It's something I have to do alone anyway.”  
“Alone. So you'll get beat up again? Is this how you get around? Sometimes I think you like getting punched”.  
Steve smile sadly as he remembered another person saying exactly that to him, so many years back. He took a deep breath and said:  
“I have to do this. That's all I can tell you. I can't explain it otherwise. He's my friend, Sam. He's out there alone and lost, completely about himself and his condition. I owe it to him to help him. He's been there for me my whole life. Helping me out. I have to do the same now. I have to be there for him now because I didn't the last time”  
“What happened the last time? “ Sam asked “I though you said he fell off a train while on a mission.”  
“Yes. Look I've come to terms with that, I couldn't help. But think, Sam. I didn't go back looking for him. So, Hydra found him. He fell and I left him there. In their mercy.”  
Sam sighed. “Hey. Don't do this to yourself, ok? None of this was your fault. You don't know how many people I've met with the same problem. Same one I had, when my partner died. I kept thinking about how I could have done things differently so he would still be alive. You couldn't know, man. It's how it is. You had a job to do, you couldn't go back. And you couldn't know. There's no point beating yourself about something you can't change or couldn't change even then. The important thing is....he's a live now”  
“Exactly”  
Sam took the file from Steve's hands with a sigh. The pain and expectation in his expression were enough to convince him.  
"So You'll read it?"  
"YES yes I will!” Sam said exasperated. He looked at Steve who was still standing there impatienly.  
“What? You expect me to read the whole thing now? NOW?”  
“Well… the sooner we find him the better….”  
“God where did I get myself into? Yeah I bet you can’t wait for him make your face new again”.  
Steve gave him a greatful smile. “Thanks Sam. And hey all you have to do is read this file. You don’t have to do anything else…You don't have to get involved all I want is your advice...I mean you've dealt with trauma and you've worked with people who went through something even remotely similar -well I don't know if this particular experience can becompared with anything you've encountered- so maybe you can help me understand how he'd act now that he's free from HYDRA. Just your advice. I and can’t ask you to risk anything over this.”  
‘Hell no man! I promised I’d help the first time and I will. Look if Captain America needs my help, I’ll help”.  
“How ‘bout a friend that needs your help?”  
Sam replised seriously: “Even better”…  
Steve grinned shyly. Sam took out a chair, sat down and opened the file. “Wow…150 pages. That’s definitely how I thought of spending my day. Oh don’t give me those puppy eyes I’ll read it”.  
“Take your time. As long as we start from something…” Steve delightfully, pulling out another chair and seated himself opposite Sam.  
“You’re gonna sit here? “  
Steve raised his shoulders.  
"Oh no just go and do something while I read. I can't have you over my head, it's stressing me out". 

“Well I can't just sit around doing nothing!”  
“You're welcome to do the dishes, they're over there in the sink, let's say it's my pay off for waking me up on a Sunday morning”.  
Steve looked by the sink and then he looked around the kitchen slightly buffled. Then his eyes brightened and with a cheeky smile he asked:  
“Do the dishes? What, don't you have a dishwasher?This is the 21st century, you know”  
“Oh is that how it is now? You're modern now?” Same said in an offended tone, though his expression betrayed he wasn't”  
“That's how It is”.  
“I'll have you know that they're not as affordable as one might think. But no seriously now that's not the issue, actually, I have a probem with the plumming in the appartement. The place for the dishwasher interferes with the electricity cables and there's danger for...whatever that's more or less what they said. So no dishwasher.” Sam said lifting his shoulders indifferently. “So you can go ahead and do them” he added.

Steve without anymore deylay turned to the sink and got down to buisness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winter Soldier finds a new purpose

Several miles away, in a small alley of an infamous neighborhood the man with the metal arm was lying in his hiding place. He knew how to hide very well. How to lay low, keep out of sight. He was well trained in that. It was close to twilight but the man could get no sleep, he was restless. The Winter Soldier had wandered the whole night, trying to figure out his next move. It was easier to go unnoticed in the night; fewer people out to see him, and those who might see him wouldn’t be liable. All the better for them, he thought.   
After having come to no conclusion about how he could proceed next, he decided to try and rest, get some sleep. He never needed to sleep much , so just a couple of hours would do. Just enough for his mind to clear. But that was exactly his problem. He couldn't rest He couldn't clear his mnd. On one hand he feared. He feared that he would forget again if he slept, if he let go. He feared that when he would wake up he wouldn’t remember all that had happened and he'dbe back in that room, his mind blank and ready to comply to every order.   
That wasn’t the only reason though. It was the first time he found himself in a situation like this. The Winter Soldier. The most lethal weapon… without a mission. He felt a huge void inside him…the Winter Soldier always had a mission, a target, a goal, superiors to please. Not anymore. Now he was all alone, no allies -not that he ever had any..except maybe for one a very long time ago…- no mission, no bosses. Nothing. What was he supposed to do? The thought was unbearable, the same question kept coming back whenever he tried to relax, and usually it was followed by images of the man he had fought a few weeks ago: Captain America.   
That reckless target of his that insisted he was someone he knew. The Soldier had never believed a word; he assumed it was all a trick. How could he know the man? But then why did he save him? That urge that made him dive into the water and pull him out, that feeling that he should help him…that must have meant something. The Winter Soldier never had such feelings before, until that day. He always killed the targets, finished his missions (he knew what to expect if he didn’t). So why save him? What had changed? And why did he have that sense of familiarity whenever he pictured his face? All these thoughts made him more and more confused, angry, filled his head with assumptions, unanswered questions, doubts and even more frustration about his current fate. All that made his head feel like it was bursting. His left arm punched the wall out of frustration and a few birds flew away scared.   
Perhaps the man was right. Perhaps there was something going on with him and he hadn’t realized it but somehow and that man was the key. Captain America. Maybe if he found out more about him things would become clearer, some of his questions might be answered. Maybe he’d find out if James Buchanan Barnes was truly his name. Find out what the hell had happened to him. If it were all true then it meant HYDRA to whom he was loyal this whole time, had lied to him. Even worse, they had been manipulating him, brainwashing him, using him. What If it were true? How else could he explain the lapses in his memory? The fact that he never had a say in whatever he did, the fact that he had to be wiped over and over....Maybe it was because if they didn't do all that to him he'd fight them. Maybe he wouldnt comply so eagerly. He had to know if that's what had happened...  
Then he would find the people who did that to him and destroy them. 

Yes! That would be his mission now. He finally had a purpose again; Search for truth? Revenge? Call it what he may, the point was he knew his next move now and he enjoyed that feeling. He would start searching first thing in a few hours.

And with that thought, the Winter Soldier closed his eyes and finally fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam finds a starting point to finding Bucky

“Hey Steve”, Sam’s voice was heard from the kitchen. Steve was staring at the TV lethargically, not really seeing anything. Once he was done with the dishes, he followed Sam's advice and paied a visit to his living room, turned on the tv and tried to find something interesting to watch. At first he scanned the news, in case any insidents connected to Bucky came on, but there was nothing. After a while a show about antique selling and restoration started, which Steve was left watching without any interest. As soon as Sam yelled he popped out of the couch in an instant. Sam was sitting on the kitchen table, Bucky’s file open somewhere in the middle. He heard Steve running from the living room and he chuckled. A moment later he was next to Sam, looking at him anxiously.   
“What? What it is? You done? Found anything helpful?”   
Sam took a moment before he replied: Look, I don’t know if it’s very helpful but maybe it’s a start. There's a picture of the original group of scientists that participated in the Winter Soldier project, some of their names are actually here so maybe we can start by locating any of these people that might still be alive. There's a good chance if your friend is looking for answers he'll go to the beginning to find them....But I wanted to ask you something first. When you woke up in 2012, and well learned what had happened…what did you do? Were there places you visited? People you spoke to? Or..Whatever really”  
“Well, hum, Fury filled me in for starters. Then he sent a bunch of people, mostly doctors, to just help me adjust. Didn’t do much… I visited my old neighborhood. The places I used to go to, you know familiar streets and all. But that's all in New York. ”  
“Right.”  
Steve pulled a chair and joined Sam. “What, you think he might do the same? He doesn’t remember Sam. He couldn’t .It's a long trip to New York I don't think he would risk it.”  
“Maybe not. But maybe he will go to the closest thing there is here. Things will eventually start coming back to him. It’s usually the most suppressed memories that come back first once you let your guards down and the type of the memories depends on what has triggered them in the first place. And that, my friend, was you. He’ll have you as his beam , given he can’t remember anything else, you will be the one he’ll start looking about. What was it about you that was so important to his bosses, why you let him beat you, why he helped you- if he really did-.”  
“He did. I’m sure of it”, Steve paused, he was half unconscious, but he was certain it was Bucky who pulled him out.  
“He only knows you’re Captain America. Nothing more. But the closest place here he can learn more about Captain America is one..”

Steve turned to Sam, “The Smithsonian” he uttered.  
“Exactly. It’s the only place to learn more about you without getting involved with hacking and asking and killing, cause you know…he’ll probably try to avoid that for a while…I hope. I mean he could probably just google stuff but I don't know how he can get access to a computer right now without any money. And public libraries could be dangerous, they have cameras and metal detectors. The Smisthonian however, has a lot of tourists daily which means a lot more is excused”.  
“Great! That’s a start!” Steve’s smile was up to his ears. “I'll pay frequent visits to the Smisthonian. It's a long shot but I gotta start somewhere...Meanwhile, we need to work on finding these people Sam.”  
“Yeah. I'll try to find any clues on them in the files Natasha leaked from HYDRA. I'll let you know if I find anything”  
“Yeah. Thanks again. I ….” Steve sighed “I'm greatful”  
Same made a gesture implying it was no big deal  
“I'll leave you alone now. Sorry about the early wake again.” Steve got up and prepared to leave.  
“I’ll keep this”, Sam pointed at the file “In case something more helpful comes up that I missed on first read. Maybe some intel on those guys. As long as he doesn’t get to them first. Because if he remembers, he will be after revenge. Probably” he added hastily seeing Steve's worried look.  
Steve sighed and said with a determined voice “We'll find them first”  
“Steve,” Sam called just as Steve had reached for the door. “ We need to be carefull. You , need to be careful. You’ve seen how Hydra works. And you’ve seen what the Winter Soldier is capable of. This needs planning.”  
“I know. We'll be ready this time. Thanks Sam. For everything.” he smiled.  
“Hey” Sam insisted “Are YOU ok though?” his voice full of concern and meaning.  
Steve lowered his eyes. “I'm good Sam. Let's just find him”. Sam nodded.  
The door closed and Sam was left alone in his kitchen.  
“Well damn” he whispered, returning to the file lying on the table.  
******************************************************************************

Steve was back in his apartment, considering all that Sam had told him, the conclusions they had come to. Things were finally looking a bit brighter. He’d start with places the Winter Soldier might remember. Starting with the Smithsonian. Steve was sure Bucky would go looking for his connection to James Buchanan Barnes, the name he so firmly refused to accept as his.   
He needed to place himself in Bucky’s shoes. But that was difficult. He’d been in a similar situation before, but he always had his memories. They were his guide. Bucky had none of that. All he had was his lethal training and all the lies Hydra had told him. Steve feared that if he ever remembered anything, he’d go looking for the people who did that to him. He had to make sure he'd get to them before Bucky. Not that he felt any sympathy for them, but killing them was not an option. They should be led to justice. And his best friend wouldn’t be a killer. Not while he was conscious of his actions. Steve knew he’d have to try and protect them in order to protect him. But this time he wouldn’t let anyone come between him and Bucky. He wouldn’t let anyone or anything stand in the way of getting his friend back. Saving him. Not this time. This time he had a mission, find his friend and help him the way he couldn't last time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winter Soldier has an unexpected encounter and rediscovers the beauty of food.

The Winter Soldier woke up just as the first sunrays lit the sky. He was lyig in a corner behind a trashcan when he heard a subtle noise somewhere in the distance. His senses tensed, so did his muscles. He waited…..in those few moments he waited, one thought, one dreadful thought passed from his mind: They had found him. They knew were he was and they had come for him.  
They’d be angry. No no he wouldn’t let them take him He’d fight this time… The same noise was heard again, this time almost next to him. The Soldier was determined; he prepared to attack. ...Suddenly he saw a ruggeddy man searching the trash can next to him. He had a limb.... or he couldn't stand very well. The smell of alcohol hit the Winter Soldier's nose hard. The man found a piece of chocolate in the can and left with it looking disappointed. The Soldier sighed with relief. He was just a homeless drunk. No threat to him. He could let him leave, he hadn’t seen him anyway, the man was just looking for food .  
The Winter Soldier suddenly felt hungry himself. As if he hadn’t eaten for days; probably he hadn’t. He couldn’t remember the last time he had something to eat. He usually didn’t remember much at all. He needed to eat. Where could he find some food now? The hunger was distracting him; he had important things to do. He turned to the trash cans and started looking. Nothing on the first, the second one was disgusting. A sigh of disappointment came out of him. His stomach growled loudly.  
“You sound hungry”, a soft shy voice was hear behind him. The Soldier turned around in an instant, ready to defend himself. He was surprised to face a young girl with dark skin, hair on ponytail, big eyes and a timid look on her face.. She was holding something in her arms that she then extended to him. The Winter Soldier backed off spontaneously. She’s just a little girl, he thought. But he’d learned not to trust anyone long ago. Not even little girls...  
“Go on take it. It’s food!” The girl said. The Soldier didn’t move. A smile appeared on the girl’s lips. “Oh don’t worry it’s alright. It’s only lasagna. Nothing special, my dad made them, but they’re tasty. Ask Jeff. They’re his favourite. We had more than enough last night”.  
The girl didn’t [‘t seem to be intimidated by him. Quite the contrary really, she seemed rather intrigued and was looking at him curiously. People usually looked scared when they faced him. ..  
The girl noticed he didn’t make any moves towards the food so she went back slowly and approached a bench behind her and left the little bag there.  
“I’ll leave it here” she said. “You can decide if you wanna eat it or not. But I guess you haven’t eaten anything since last night so you must be hungry. That was you last night wasn’t it? Moving around here. I thought I saw someone…”  
She’d seen him last night? Or so she said. If she was sent by them he wouldn’t be still here now. They’d have taken him away already . Back to that painful room, where they made him forget…. The mere thought of it made his heart skip a beat and his stomach nausious. He pushed himself to stop thinking about it and turned his thought to the girl. She was now staring at him. At his arm. She caught his sight and turned away immediately.  
“well uhm… I gotta go to school. I suggest you eat the lasagna… Thought you’d still be asleep and I’d leave them here for when you woke up but..eh. Anyway if you don’t eat them leave them here for Jeff. They’re his favorite. “The girl looked at her phone clock and continued “Uh oh I’m late. Gotta go bye sir”, she turned and left hastily, big schoolbag on her back.  
The Winter Soldier stood there for a while, staring towards the direction the girl had just run of to, silently, considering all that had just happened. Sir. He repeated the word silently as if he hadn't heard it before.  
Then he moved hesitantly to where the food bag was lying, opened it and a wonderful smell came out. He tasted the food; it was good. He couldn’t remember when he last enjoyed the taste and smell of food. It was a welcome sensation. Without a second thought he started devouring the lasagna.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve consideres asking Tony for help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just me having a little fun with Cap's age. Not that he wouldn't get search engines but maybe he didn't have enough time to fully understand how the internet works
> 
> There was a supplementary chapter here in which Cap has a flashback scene of Clint sent to arrest him after the elevator scene in the film  
> It was said there was a cut scene writen for the film which eventualy didn't make it, SO I also didn't add mine but I might at some point as an extra one.

“No Steve. You can’t find these people on Google. That’s not how it works”. Sam and Steve were sitting in the kitchen, in Sam’s apartment, Sam looked exasperated. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and continued: “Google is a search engine yes, but you can’t use it to find people from secret service files that read “classified” on them, you can’t use it to find ex- Nazis or ex-KGB or generally people working in secret organizations.”  
“But HYDRA's secrets are out now, they're out for anyon to find, who says all that infrmation we want isn't just laying there with the rest? I'm just saying it'd save us time. Don't you wanna just check? Are you sure?” Steve insisted.”  
‘Yes Steve, I’m sure.”  
“If you say so”…  
Steve had knocked on Sam’s door earlier that day with what he thought was a great idea. They were looking for the people mentioned in the Winter Soldier’s file, with the hope of getting information out of them or in case Bucky payed them a visit, so Steve suggested they’d Google them. It's not that he didn't realise that a simple search engine didn't provide classified information, but he thought with all the files being available now, maybe the information about the people in the file that they were looking for could be in one of the files there. Having worked with Tony Stark, he soon came ot realise that with today's technology there wasn't much that was impossible to find.  
Apparently that wasn't the case. There was no mention of any of the people in the files after 1955. As if they had disappeared.  
“So, how are we gonna find them?” he said, arms crossed.  
Sam sighed. “I don’t know. I ran some military files but I got nowhere. And even if I did I wouldn’t know where to start from or what to believe… Maybe they were one of those people who changed identities after the war ended...I can't know for sure and I don't know how to find them if they did. I'm not bad with computers my self but I'm not on that level of hacking. I mean your Avenger buddies could probably hack into government files but they’re not in a great position to help, nor we can be sure that even government files would have that kind of informaiton”.  
“I know someone who could help…possibly…”?”  
“Tony Stark??”  
“Well… Yes. But to be honest I don’t wanna involve him into this”  
Steve had thought about contacting Tony from the moment he was declared a traitor from Shield. He thought of contacting all of the Avengers. To warn them, ask for their help… But everything had happened so fast, he was cut off, he had no safe way of communicating with anyone. Shield was monitoring all of them; he’d only risk their lives, their covers. He had excluded that idea right away. And Tony would be the last person to ask help from for this particular issue. Besides he preffered to handle things alone.  
But you don’t have to. Bucky’s words from once upon a time filled his mind. He smiled at the remembrance. He had to find Him. And to do that he had to use all the help he could and Tony Stark was his best option right now so maybe he should consider that option greatly if things didn't work out in the near future...Natasha and Fury were covering their tracks. The other person that could possibly handle such things was Clint. But He hadn’t seen Clint since that day they clashed, moments after his escape from the Shield Headquarters, through the Elevator.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky visits the Smisthonian and find out about his past

The Winter Soldier was moving carefully through the roads, so that people wouldn’t notice him. He was good at that, he always knew how to move discreetly and escape attention. He needed to find some clothes in order to blend in. That would make things easier. The uniform was quite indiscreet and his metal arm was bound to attract attention. It always did.  
Where could he start? He had no money. Stealing or..Borrowing wouldn’t do any good; it would create unwanted fuss, even if he would never be connected to it. He had considered going back to the headquarters of Hydra. At first he had. But that was not an optimistic option, nor a very safe one. He didn't know how guarded they'd be even after HYDRA'S exposion. Besides, he’d never go back there again, he didn't want to set foot anywhere near them; these were the people he was trying to hide from, first and foremost. All they'd done to him, all the lies. He wouldn’t go back until he found out what exactly had happened to him. Then he'd go there in one purpose alone; to kill them all.  
Going back was an option he had considered once he saved Captain America from drowning. He didn't know what to do he was confused and felt empty. But he’d failed his mission, Captain America was alive, the hellicarriers were blown up… No.The only thing that waited for him there-if anything had survived- was more pain. So he decided to leave for good. Probem was, he had little to go on with and now he was in a difficult position He.’d have to make do with what he could find. But he would make it. He was determined, he wouldnt' let anything stand in his way.  
At that point he realized he had stopped in front of a building.. At first he didn’t understand why he had come this way but then he read the sign above the door: “Homeless Centre” it read.  
HE could get some more food here, clothes ….  
Without a second thought he entered the building.

*********************************  
Steve was pacing restlesly up and down his appartement. He'd left Sam quiet disappointed that day with their progress in finding the people from the photo, however he could find the picture of two of the people in the file in a newspaper dated back to 1955. It was the latest mention he could find about any of them. They were in a local newspaper, that didn't print anymore, they had both been apprehended by the US authorities for crimes of war and illegal experimentation. That's all the newspaper mentioned but there was nothing more he could find. They were both German, that was the only other available information.  
He sighed. He was getting nowhere. He needed more help if he wanted to find these people.   
“We need a good plan Cap, if we’re gonna pay him a visit. Cause the Winter Soldier might do so as well. And he won’t be pleased to find us there”, Sam had said.  
He wondered if he should call Tony. He hadn't seen or heard from him since the events of the past weeks and he was beginning to worry, but he was hesitant involving him into this hunt for Bucky. He wanted to avoid the further mess any of Tony's involvement would cause.   
How about Clint? Where could he be this whole time? Steve didn't really worry about Clint, Natasha would have checked on him as soon as possible, these two were very close. Maybe though, Clint could help, he was a spy once anyway, not just an op agent. Again, more people involved, more questions asked, the more complicated things would get.   
He needed to buy anonymity and time for Bucky as much as he could. He wanted to avoid having more people lookng for him, now that he was vulnerable to being found out. His file was out there, what he'd done, what was done to him...He would definitely be a valuable asset to many organizations. No it was too dangerous for him to involved more people. Maybe he and Sam could try and lowkey search for him for a while. See where that got them.

The Winter Soldier was staring at his reflection in the mirror. He was clean, wearing worn out but washed clothes, hair caught back on a short ponytail, 11’clock shadow on his chin and cheeks. He had taken a razor and prepared to shave but he thought the more he changed his appearance the better. It would be more difficult to identify him this way. His left arm was neatly covered by the shirt’s sleeve and a glove. The shirt was a little oversized and in a washed out red colour.   
On the counter next to him, lied the uniform he wore until then, his knife and a couple more gadgets he had managed to keep. He put them in a black bag to take with him. He wouldn’t throw them away. Not yet. He still had work to do, he could use them. He got out of the bathroom and prepared to leave. He was good to go. Suddenly his glimpse was caught by something on the corner of his eye. There was a white and green hat lying there on the floor, next to one of the beds He tstared at it for a moment and then he went over and hid it in his bag. Once he’d left the Centre he 'd put it on.  
Yes. Now he was ready. A word came to his mind. Incognito. He repeated it. He felt it meant something, as if it was a code. It reminded him of a past mission. That thought triggered something in his mind.   
A sudden flood of images overwhelmed him, people at a party, it was mid 70s, they were laughing, joking… Then there were gunshots. Distant sounds of explosions. The laughs turned to screams as people around fell on the floor dead, he had killed them. Why? They were bad people/ Yes. That’s what they had told him. They…. They told him many things…but they proved to be lies….The screaming got louder, the Soldier’s head felt like it would burst.   
He placed his hand s on his forehead and tried to regain control. He took deep breathes, he had to have his thought ancored at something. His mission. Captain America, Bucky, mission. His mind started calming down, the thoughts faded. He realized he was in the middle of the pavement and passer by s were giving him concerned looks. He hurried on his way, escaping curious looks. This shouldn’t happen again. It was dangerous. He couldn’t risk having attention drawn to him. He had to concentrate. Focus on what he had to do. He took a deep breath and continued walking.   
So… where to start? The image of a Building flashed by his eyes. He knew right then exactly where to start…  
The Smithsonian.   
It was a big building, not very crowded at this time of the evening. Few people were in, most of them looking around excitedly, tourists. The Winter Soldier walked hastily but casually amongst them, avoiding the sides and the middle of the rooms, a technique he had picked up back in the 60s, to avoid being seen in rooms with few people.   
He tried to find something that concerned him. That which made him come here… He looked around and then he saw it. Over there on the hall he saw the Section dedicated to Captain America. He closed in and looked at the life sized cutouts. That was the man He’d fought on the carriers. He was born in the beginnings of the 20th century. He was the super soldier, left in ice for 70 years, found again in 2012. Steve Rogers. He’d fought in the Second World War, along with his Howling Commandos and his best friend Bucky…Barnes? The information went on to the next screen so he tapped for it to move on.   
James Buchanan Barnes lost in battle in 1944(?) ….. The Winter Soldier looked at the picture of the man that was James Bucky Barnes. It was the spitting image of him. He moved on to the footage room, there was audio commentary of some silent video outtakes of Captain America and his Commandos. There he was next to the Captain. But how could it be him? He looked exactly like him but how could it be? All he knew so far, all he 'd been told….how could it all be lies? He looked at the video once again. There they were, the two men, joking, laughing. Captain America and the man who looked like him. He was slightly different though. His eyes. They looked happy, innocent…. Younger. The voice said that Steve Rogers and Bucky grew up together, they were lifelong friends, trusted each other Bucky followed him to battle.   
Trust, friendship. These were words he hadn’t considered for a long time. Love…. He hadn’t known those feelings; he had no one in his life that matched to these words (well…maybe except for one person so long ago…). But how could he have forgotten about all this? How could he forget such strong feelings?  
The Winter Soldier lef the room. He passed from the cutouts once more and gave them one last look. Steve Rogers, Captain America, his friend. His? That if he was truly James….   
There was no denying, everything matched, the dates, the events, the lies…. They'd brainwashed him, controlled him. Made him kill so many innocent people and had him almost kill his best and only friend. They'd taken away his life, his identity....He would find the people responsible for this. He had to. His look drifted on the picture of himself. Young man, full of determination. How could he ever have been this man? He felt a pinch of sorrow for the man in the picture, he had no idea into what kind of monster he'd be turnded out to be  
The Winter Soldier left the building, leaving behind him the innocence he had just witnessed, and faced the blue sky, sun falling on his eyesslightly blinding him. He took a deep breath enjoying the good day.   
James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky. That was his name. He was no longer the asset, the Winter Soldier, the weapon. 

He was James.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and his troubled relationship with the phone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I only wrote this scene to tie it up with Tony's appearance next but I really really wanted to use a line I stole from Avengers Assemble. The dialogue between Cap and Tony about adapting and spending 70 years in the ice. I love it s I used it.

The phone was ringing again, persistently, but by the time Steve realized it it had already stopped. It was late at night, he was fast asleep and he still had a hard time recognizing that the song playing was coming from the phone. Ringtone, it was called. He didn't have problem understanding it no, it wasn't that, he learned fast, he always had that skill and after the syrum it became even more prominent; he just couldnt seem to get used to having a song play instead of a phone ring. It wasn't his idea really. Tony had insisted he was ready to change the custom ringtone from his phone and replace it with a song he liked. Apparently he was wrong. Steve refused firmly until Tony changed it himself with one of those loud noisy songs he liked, so Steve was forced to ask him to change it and put at least one of his choice. He was learning fast, but cell phones were one of the things he found challenging to spent time on. He enjoyed being able to communicate instantly with everyone and he had no difficulty using them but that's all he was prepared to have them for. Communication. He simply didn’t have the patience to learn every little perk they had, even though Stark had thoroughly tried to enlighten him.   
“Gotta learn to adapt if you want to survive Cap” he’d said.  
In which Steve had replied: “Spent 70 years frozen on ice and then talk about survival Stark”.  
That shut him up, much to Steve’s surprise.  
The phone rang again, this time the cable phone. Steve hurried out of his bed, got caught up in the sheets and tripped. He got up again fast and run to the phone and picked it up.   
“Hello?” he said. There was no answer. “Damn it” he whispered. The cell phone was next to it and a little light was glowing. Steve picked it up “You have one new call” it read. Number unknown; Steve wondered who could be calling at this hour, but he went back to bed soon enough, he had other worries in his mind than an unanswered call.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky has a second unexpected encounter

Early in the next morning, James Buchanan Barnes, was enjoying the sunlight and clear sky on a bench in the National Park. He was dressed casually, hat and sunglasses on, unsuspicious. He pretended to read the newspaper but really he was supposed to be planing his next move.  
However, The beautiful day and the too-busy-for-this-time-of-day park slowly made his thoughts drift away. He was trying to remember the last time he sat down in a place like this on a sunny morning, carefree enough to enjoy the perks of his position He couldn't remember of one single instant. Sometimes he thought he had a glimpse of a moment like this, sitting on a bench on a snowy but warm monring , a half image of a red-headed woman next to him...But before he could form a whole image in his head, before he could bring the whole memory back, it would fade away, his mind erased it.   
Damn it, they'd done a good job the bastards. He hated them with all his heart, and with every passing moment he hated them more.   
“So did you eat the lasagna?”  
A soft voice next to him made him jump a little. He turned to see the little girl from yesterday looking at him with curiosity and concern. He couldn't believe he hand't noticed her approaching him and standing next to him. What happened? If it were them, he'd be back in the lab by now. Had he gotten so careless? He could't afford having his attention disturbed again, certainly not by such trivial things as memories and feelings...no NO he had to focus. After the mission was done he might have the time to do some introspection...but for now, all of that had to wait.  
“Well” the little girl insisted.   
Suddenly, James found himself in a position he never remembered being in....He had to actually talk to that little girl, he had to be someone who wasn't dangerous, who wasnt a killing machine and coul d talk to children. James didn't think he knew how to do that. All that training yet he'd never been in a situation where he had to engage in a conversation that wasn't part of a mission..a greater plan. Every person he'd meet and talk to had a role to play, wether they knew it or not it didn't matter, his goal was one: get the job done.  
He tried to speak but instead a deep growl came out. There must be somehting I can say, he started thinking desperately of a way to get the girl to go away without being too suspicious or intimidating.  
However the girl sighed and continued. “You know your arm is pretty cool” she said pointing at his left arm, the one that was made of metal. James insinctively crossed his arms, taking it out of sight.. He was stll suspicious and the mention of his arm made him very nervous. He froze. He looked into the girls eyes, if she was a spy he'd know.....her eyes were too expressive to be pretending...too honest. He wished she wasn't a spy, he didn't want to kill anymore. Not unless it was one of them. He'd done enough killing for a lifetime.  
“I have one too! Well my leg not my arm. But it's not as cool as yours. It was the cheapest we could get with the insurance we have, the metal isn't so good and sometimes it gets a bit stuck, but it does the job” The girl proceded to lift a bit of her right pant up to the ankle,revealing a prosthetic shin.  
James was left looking at her surprised , in a worse stated of stilness than before.  
“It's not that I mind. But sometimes people laugh and make mean jokes. I can't blame them if I was talking to someone and their leg got stuck suddenly I would be freaking out too. Some of my friends findit cool...we pretend to be from the future and stuff like that. Like on of the Terminator machines. Other kids though find it creepy.. And I know I'm supposed to not pay attention to those buttheads” she chuckled at this point “as my dad says they just don't know any better, and that kids can be mean and I don't have to listen to any of them. But sometimes I wish it was really a bionic leg from the future.....So I could kick their ass” she ended her speech giving an extra emphasis on her last phrase, showing her frustration.  
James couldn't help but smile. Well....smile is maybe an exaggeration, an idea of a smile rather. He looked at the standing across him very well. She had a frown that didn't really much the spirit and lightness of her eyes, she wasnt' really angry, her expression and body language showed anticipation and impatience. Her arms were crossed in a very tigh position, she looked as if she'd been training in something she was very compact in the posture. Her hair was very curly and caught in a high bun. She wore gym clothes and had a school bag on the shoulders. Her shoes looked worn out on top, yet they seemed to be clean and taken care of. Same as her clothes and bag. Mustn't have been rich, probably had to give more money on medical bills.... That's all he could gather from her.  
Then he noticed her hand holding something, a leash that led to a dog next to her. A black labrator with shiny fur, waiting patiently for her to start walking again. The dog started sniffing him. He got tense right away and for a moment so did the dog. Had it sensed hostility?Who knows, but after a short moment the dog's wet nose, followed by it's tongue was on his right hand, his tail wiggling back and forth.  
“He likes you” the girl said happily. “He's friendly don't worry. But he doesn't lick just anyone so feel blessed, mr Clover is very shy.” she said petting the dog lovingly.  
“Mr Clover..” James wispered. What a strange name for a dog. Then again..he didn't know what a regular for a dog would be. He extended his arm before he could stop himself, in an attempt to pet the dog, who happily accepted it. He came closer and James now extended both his arms and scratched him behind the ears.  
“Oh he speaks” the girl said enthusiastically. “I 'm Jayla by the way. And yes that's Mr Clover...you know from the clover on the ground, he's lucky so I had to give him an appropriate name. And Lucky is just so cheesy and old fashioned” She smile and reached her small hand to him. James looked at it thoroughly He still didn't know if he could trust her. But something about her eyes and attitude made it impossible for him to no shake her hand. “I'm James” he heard himself saying as though he was outside of his body and was attending the whole scene from somewhere near. The whole experience was so surreal yet so real, unlike anything James remembered. It was....normal.  
“Nice to meet you James. Well I gotta go to school, if you need more food we have some chicken wings left from yesterday we'll have them out tonight so make sure to pass from the neighborhood. Good bye James” she gave him a big smile and turnd away, dragging Mr Clover with her.  
James nodded and got up immidiately, ready to walk to the opposite direction. Before he did thought, he halted for a second, then half turned half facing direction to which he was going, he said in a low voice: “Hey, Your leg is cool too”.  
He didn't know if the girl heard him, he started walking hastily away from the park, but Jayla smiled and went on her way.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is entirely Post Cap 2 and it's all my own version of events that went down  
> Tony Stark comes in asking Steve about what happened during that time, he also meets Sam who fanboys a litte. That's another Avengers Assemble reference ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is entirely Post Cap 2 and it's all my own version of events that went down,   
> Tony comes in he mrets Sam who fanboys a litte. That's another Avengers Assemble reference ...  
> A little inner monologue over Stark, in Cap's head.

Sam and Steve were sitting in their usual spot in Sam's kitchen, piles of paper around them and a half finished cup of coffee on Sam's side. They were supposed to plan their next move, organize some sort of strategy.  
“We need to make a proper plan, no mistakes” Steve stated.  
“Yes as if that’s worked fine before” Steve didn’t respond to Sam’s sarcastic comment but only continued explaining.  
“We’ll plan daily visits to the Smithsonian and other places Bucky knew around here or that could be connected to past missions, in case he remembers any of them but what we need to focus on first and foremost is find out the people in the photo and any of his past...”handlers”, the word made Steve grimache in discomfort “and learn as much as we can from them. “Also..”  
Steve’s phrase was cut in half by a persistent bang on the door.  
Sam turned to Steve surprised: “you expecting anyone?”   
“Not really” Steve looked alarmed.  
The knocking was heard again along with the bell. They didn’t reply they only remained silent and alarmed. Then someone spoke out of the door.  
“Godammit Rogers I know you’re in there if you don’t open this door right now I’ll blust it down…Or…blow it up or something of a similar effect”.  
Steve sighed in relief and ran to the door.   
“You know him?” Sam asked.  
“Oh yes...”  
He opened the door and Tony Stark’s angry face appeared on the entrance. He was wearing one of his Suit’s arms and was still aiming at the door.  
“Well it was about damn time” he uttered, after getting over his initial surprise, arm still left hanging in the air.  
“Nice to see you too Stark”.  
“Huh..Nice? I’ll show you nice. Finally someone answered. What the hell Cap? Didn’t I teach you how to use your cell phone? It's simple you just slide your finger across the green button. Didn’t I use my genius skills to make it easier for you to use you phone? All you need to do is give it voice commands..Then why the hell have you been ignoring my calls?”  
“Oh so you were the one calling me in the middle of the night?” Steve's relief was evident.  
Tony paused for a moment looking guilty, but proceeded anyway: “Oh I'm sorry did I wake your highness from his beauty sleep?Yes. If you must know I called other hours too but you never answered. Excuse me for trying to communicate after all the shit that's gone down. Got me worried..I mean I heard things...soooooo…” Stark stopped talking gradually and stood there looking akwardly at Steve and Sam's direction.  
“You done? I can fill you in if you care to stop yelling and come in” Steve suggested.  
“Oh I’ll come in. And you have some explaining to do”. Tony got inside the apartment, looking around curiously until his eye caught Sam's figure, sitting in the kitchen, stunned.   
“Hey. Tony Stark” he said extending his arm.  
Sam stood up and shook Tony’s hand unable to say anything.  
“You may have heard of me I’m...”  
“Iron Man” Sam cut him. “Wow”  
Tony chuckled proudly “Amongst other things. I like him” he said turning to Steve.  
“That’s Sam Wilson. Valuable ally, and a good friend”  
Tony nodded to Sam. He looked at him top to bottom and then added: “Another soldier guy? Where ‘d he come from?”  
“He, helped us save millions of people, including your smart ass” Steve said emphatically.  
«Okay mr Egdy relax. And quit mumbling your words; what the hell are you talking about? What did I miss? I heard stuff on the news but hey who believes them anymore? Jarvis tried to run some Shield files and all I could find was something about HYDRA? And SHIELD being compromised? I just didn’t buy it, I thought something else must be going on. So I thought I’ll ask my fellow “Avengers” for information, but noooooo” Tony gestured intensely “Nowhere to be found. Earth’s mightiest heroes but they have disappeared. I mean what does a guy have to do around here to get information”.   
At this point Steve considered it wise to stop Tony because he seemed to be losing his temper.   
“Ok Mr. Stark? If you calm down and just sit here for a moment, we can explain everything”. Stark stopped immediately and turned to face the person addressing him; it was Sam who had spoken and he was now standing, touching Tony’s elbow with one hand and showing a chair with the other. As soon as he caught Stark's eyes, Sam removed his hand and backed away a bit, giving Tony a reassuring nod towards the chair.  
Tony gave out a silent sigh and sat on the chair Sam had offered and crossed his arms.  
“Ok. I’m seated. Now explain.”  
Sam and Steve exchanged a look before joining Tony.   
“Well…long story short, Shield’s been compromised. The news weren’t wrong, neither were the files you found. It was HYDRA. They have been working inside SHIELD, in secret, all these years, looking for the opportune moment. And they found it”  
“What now?” Tony interrupted before he could stop himself  
“I’m trying to explain” Steve raised his eyebrow  
“Yeah yeah ok go on. Not talking”  
“ The hellicarriers Nick Fury had in his possession, the ones you offered to help him improve” Steve underlined the word and looked at Tony who returned the look with a blank expression, “Anyway”, he continued “HYDRA got ahold of them, killed Fury and started a manhunt on me. They planned on using the carriers in order to destroy all who stood in their way, enemies of HYDRA either now or in the future. Natasha was with me, Sam helped us. We tried to take the carriers down before they killed anyone. HYDRA sent their greatest weapon, the Winter Soldier to stop us, but… he didn't manage to do it”. Steve finished his story and exchanged a side look with Sam.  
Tony didn’t speak until he noticed Sam and Steve staring at him. He looked troubled.  
“It was HYDRA” he finally said.  
“Yes”.  
“HYDRA?’ Tony repeated. “The nazi organization that you and… my dad fought back in the 40s?”   
“Yes”.  
“You’re joking. You gotta be” Tony looked around in disbelief and when no one reassured him he continued “Not a joke? Really?”  
“It’s all true” Sam confirmed.   
“Dayum. How? I mean how were they supposed to use the carriers to kill people? I don’t understand. They’d need satellites and ...”  
“They had the satellites Tony they had every damn thing they needed, they had access to all our weapons and tech, remember that SHIELD was infiltrated. And they used Zola’s algorithm to predict who would be an enemy to HYDRA. He was a Swiss scientist during…”  
“I know who Zola was”.  
“Well he created an algorithm to predict, based on people’s lives and current choises and socio-economic positions, their past, their present, their future choices, grades, political beliefs, if they’d be a potential threat to HYDRA”.  
“Son of a bitch.” Tony looked amazed. “Looks like applied mathematics are one hell of a weapon; Sam and Steve nodded in agreement.  
“And you say it was them who caused the economic crisis and even caused wars through the years? You’re gonna tell me they even caused the earthquake on Indonesia, or the blew up the Twin Towers? All with a higher plan to rule the world?”  
“I don’t know Tony. But Zola made it clear that Hydra was behind many such occasions, that caused the death of many people. Or individuals that stood in their way. Accidents happened…” Howard’s image popped into Steve’s mind and he decided not to say anything els. He looked at Tony and he felt a pinch of guilt.  
“So… Fury’s really dead?” His voiced declared sadness but his face was emotionless .  
“It seems like he is.” Steve said mysteriously.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“It means I wanna know how much you know first”.  
“But I don’t know anything! That’s why I’ve been looking for you. What you think I missed your pretty face?”  
“What? A guy with your skills and technology couldn’t find out?”  
“No I couldn’t. If you must know I was away. Had a hard time getting informed.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Long story , it’s kinda…personal. Come on just tell me.”  
“Fury survived. He was badly injured but he'll live. Him and Romanoff are off covering their tracks. I don't know anything else Tony that's all I got.  
“ So…all these things happened in like..what…two days? What the f…”  
“Stark” Steve interrupted.  
“Seriously? Ok sorry... So..what’s the deal I go away for a few days and you guys break half a city and two secret organizations?”  
“You know what Stark?” Steve started saying but Tony cut him off.   
“Ok relax Jeez.... But seriously, why wasn't anyone else informed We could've helped Steve...”  
“Everything happened so fast Tony i'd no choice. After I run away from Shield I was being monitored the whole time. We all were. Contacting any of you would put you in danger, they already had their eyes on the Avengers.”  
“Well maybe I didn't care if I was endangered. We're supposed to be together in this Cap. We're a team if you need help we're here”  
“As I said, everything happened too fast. There was no time for anything when we were trying to run for our lives.”  
Tony exhaled frustrated and then turned to look at Steve seriously. He seemed to be half convinced but he added :  
“You're really stubborn you know that?”.  
Steve smiled sadly at him . Tony moved his head in exasperation and added :”Remind me never to leave town again. I go away and things go downhill”.  
“Yes Stark your absence was too much to handle”.  
“That hurt me you know. ...Didn't know you do sarcasm now, must be a new thing...I like it.”  
“I could sarcasm before you were born Stark. You know, you didn't invent it. Though I can say you've redefined the word”.  
“Touche, Cap”. Tony sounded amused.   
“So how have you been? What happened to you I heard rumors. You know you're not an easy guy to find either.  
Steve took a good look at Tony, trying to predict if his answer was going to be honest and serious or not.   
Tony was contemplating the same thing before he answered the question.   
“Oooh now you're questioning MY absence? That's funny. I was out of town. Needed some time off. A break...”  
“Break from what?”  
“Doesn't matter now”  
“It doesn't?” Steve tried to push , he was prepared to push as hard as Tony would allow him. He'd been hearing things on the news about Tony and a Mandarin fella. At the time he was away on a mission and didn't really have time to catch up and then everything with Hydra happened so he never got the chance to look up on Tony. It was a burning question of what had happened to him, what was true and what wasn't. And respected Tony's privacy but he really need to get the truth out of him.  
Tony moved uncomfortably in his seat before speaking “It was about what happened a few months ago, with the mandarin, I ….”  
“You what? I heard the whole thing on the news but I didn't get much of what went down. I didn't have time to contact you so I could only assume...Is it true? Did you quit?”  
“I just kinda destroyed my suits. I had to do it it was getting out of hand and it was getting in the way...It's just that I'm...I felt...” he couldn't go on. It was too difficult to try to explain to Captain America all the things that he felt. He thought he could do it but he couldn't. Not to Mr Perfect anyway. How could he explain that he suffered from postraumatic stress from the events of NY? How could he tell him that he suffered from panic attacks that kept him up at nights? Visions of the hole in the sky closing before he could get in, visions of Pepper dying...How could he explain he never felt safe anymore. Especially now, after what Steve had told him, it only made it worse....His whole world was falling appart and he couldn't stop it and that drove him crazy. But how could he say all that to Steve Rogers, Captain America himself. He had an image to maintain and he didn't expect Steve to understand. During his childhood his figure his excistance...he was someone he used to look up to, in his eyes-in his father's eyes- Captain America could do no wrong , he was a hero. You can't say all that to a hero.  
Even if though Captain America was not longer his hero, he'd stopped being way too long ago. Then he met him, they didn't get along. Maybe it was Tony's fault, letting bitterness get in the way, they do say you shouldn't meet your heroes past or present. Maybe it was because he felt Steve was judging him as to how he lived his life, or maybe he just didn't like the fact he seemed to be eactly as his father had described him, perfect. Even if he soon realised that Steve Rogers was more human than you'd ever imagine, even if infact he wasn't really perfect and even though they went through a lot together and learned to respect one another. But how could you say all that to that very same guy, even if he is standing there right now asking you what was wrong.  
“Tony” Steve insisted “ if you need any help, just let me know ok?  
“Oh I'm touched”  
Steve moved his head flustered. “You realy love spoling everything don't you? Is that how you get off? Sarcasm your way through problems”  
“Pretty much yeah” Tony said, with a blank expression on his face. Then he looked Steve in the eye and in all seriousness and a wisper he said “I know”.   
He got up and started pacing around the kitchen, his back turned to them.  
That was good enough for Steve. Damn you Stark, and your self reliance. Though could he blame Tony for something he himself did? He never asked for help, not when it came to personal matters. Still, Tony wasn't the guy to shy away from such things and he really did care about him.  
“SO what now”? They heard Sam say.  
“What now indeed” repeated Tony, looking somewhere in the distance. “Well for starters” he said while turning to their direction again “ I wanna know how safe we are for the moment. Is all of Shield down? Who's with us? Who can we trust?”  
“I don't know Tony. Appart from the usual suspects, there's nothing else I can tell you. Be extra careful...Stick with the people you know and trust, Pepper, your close friends, us. Fury's working on it, he's got people everywhere tryign to put things back together, to fix them. Everything's changed ever since that HYDRA, we need ot be patient, lay low”  
“Yeah lay low” Tony cut him “That was my plan....and look how that turned out”. He exhaled heavily and turned his back once again.  
Steve couldn't offer any counter-arguements so he just turned to Sam. His expression was intense.   
“Tell him” Sam mouthed.   
“Not a good idea Sam”  
“He might help”   
Steve shook his head negatively.  
“What's not a good idea” Tony asked  
“it's nothing” Steve hurried. He saw Tony's face frown.   
“OK it was...it's...uhm...Sam” Sam looked surprised. “Yes, Sam has an issue with the plumming here...they said he can't get a dishwasher in here. I thought you might know how to fix his problem, I mean really who lives without a dishwasher nowadays?” Steve realised he was talking toomuch so he decided to stop himself. He didn't like lying to Tony. He turned to Sam for reassurance but Sam rolled his eyes and sighed.  
“It's not, not a problem Mr Stark don't bother. I'm fine without a dishwasher I can handle it”.  
Tony looked at them both in disbelief , he appered to be greatly amused by what he was hearing.  
“ I dont even know what to comment on what I just heard” he started “so I won't. But first of all,quit the Mr Stark Sam or I'll have your house blown up in seconds.” Sam looked offended. “I'm not a plummer you know Rogers.I know you might have some difficulty telling the difference... Anyway” he turned to Sam “I am a good mechanichs however, so I'll take a look i'm sure there's something we can do. I mean who washed dishes today ?” he laughed.   
Steve and Sam exchanged a look.   
“so that was it?” Tony asked.  
“yes..”  
Stark didn't look 100% convinced but he didn't say anything. Steve felt a bit guilty about hiding the truth from Tony. It's not that he didn't trust him. No it wasn't that, he'd trust Tony with his life. He'd proved his worth time and again, despite on what he may let out for the people to see, Tony was a very gifted, brave and caring individual, despite his quirks he was a good descent person and he was certain if Steve asked for his help he'd offer it without hesitation.   
He'd thought he was very superficial at first, just a billionaire playboy with a great ego. Much like his father, alcoholic, egocentric and brilliant, but unlike his father, lacked any of his compassion and goodness and respect. Tony proved him wrong on that however and due to his and Howard's friendship Steve had decided to give Tony a second chance. Being his friend's kid, he couldn't have turned out so bad. No way. Especially since he had Peggy around. He didn't know the extend of Peggy's involvement with Tony but he knew she was present, at least in the early years of his life. Tony was surrounded by good people, he should be one himself. And so he was.  
It wasn't the goodness of Tony's heart that Steve doubted. There wasn't anything on Tony he doubted -sure they had their disagreements and different approaches in life and sometimes his methods didn't agree with Steve, but that didn't mean anything- it was himself. He was the one hiding the truth from Tony. It was his own dishonesty that made Steve refuse to ask for his help. Because if he did, he'd have to tell Tony what he knew about his parents. He'd have to ask Tony to help him find his parents' killer.   
Because he was sure it was Bucky who was responsible for the death of Tony's parents. There was no doubt all the clues led to that conclusion. It was definitely HYDRA and that was bad enough since Bucky was affiliated with it, but the more he read the more he was convinced that it must have been the Winter Soldier himself who would have been sent to take care of the Starks . So in any case Steve would have to explain all that to Tony, convince him somehow that helping him find the person who possibly murdered his parents was a good idea. Steve couldn't do that. He didn't have the patience to do it, the courage to do it and the time to do it. He couldn't predict Tony's reaction-though knowing him as he did he could guess his reaction-so he couldn't risk anything getting in his way of finding Bucky. He'd have to deal with this another time. For now h'd have to go on without Tony's help, as best as he could.   
“Is the morning after tomorrow good for you Sam”? Tony asked.  
“Good for what”?   
“The dishwasher thing”  
“Oh mr..uh Stark..Tony, it's not necessary don't bother it was a stupid..”  
“Well i've offered to help and I will help, it's like, no big deal for me, so relax and tell me if the day is good”  
“Sounds good sir” Sam said.  
“Ok then, at ease Soldier” Tony joked. “ Well since it's all settled and we're all alive, I need to go back to the mansion, Pepper's waiting” He turned towards the door. “Well Cap I gotta go. Nice meeting you Sam. I got things to do, busy man here. Oh, Keep in touch Cap. And I mean it.”  
“See you Stark. And...keep safe”.  
“You too,” Tony said heavily, halting at the door. Then in an effort to lighten the mood he added “ok getting too emotional here; let's not be strangers ok? “ and with that Tony left, without another look behind him.

 

Steve turned to find a buffled Sam standing behind him.  
“Why didn't you tell him?” he asked. “About Bucky...that we could use his help.”  
Steve didn't reply right away he just stood there looking at the door his face frowning.  
“What you don't trust him? It thought you two worked together.”  
“No Sam it's not that, say what I may, I trust Tony with my life. And he's given a lot to the Avengers. No the problem isn't with him....it's more...about him. Or at least related to him”.  
Sam's confusion was even more obvious now. “Oh come on man you're killin' me”, he broke.  
“Well,” started Steve rather hesitantly “I never got to mention this but Zola made it very clear that Howard Stark's death, and his wife's, were no accident. It's evident that Hydra took care of them for what reason exactly I can't say but they did. Maybe Howard got n their way or maybe he created something they wanted really bad. Peggy's told me some stories from time to time, whenever she's lucid enough...” Steve's words were left unfinished. He was left staring sadly at the void.  
“Hey” Sam's voice was heard behind Steve, as if from far away, soft and shy. “She lived a great life and she lived long enough to see you back here, alive. She remembers you. Even in her lost days she remembers you. There's nothing else you can do than be there for her.”  
Steve sighed. “I know and I”m happy for her there's nothing more i'd have wished. I just...”  
“You just wish she could live forever? Wish you could go back and do things differently?”  
“I don't know what I wish....” Steve said in a hurry dismissing any thoughts he might have had. He felt silly. What did he wish for indeed? He just had that feeling of sadness he could't shake. “Anyway back to buisness now”  
“Yes” Sam hurried “So you think Bucky was the one who was sent to kill them?”  
“Wouldn't be surprised. He was their best...asset, the kind of guy you'd sent for this kind of job. I just don't know how to tell Tony. I mean he knows about Bucky , Howard would have definitely mentioned him a couple of times. How do you even tell someone that sort of information? How do you bring up their parents death and on top of that, even more shocking details about it and that you're trying to help that same guy who killed them? I can't do that to Tony.”  
“It's not the kind of thing you bring up in casual conversation no”.  
“And I don't even know how he'd react. I mean besides what he may go through learning all that, asking for his help to find his parents' assassin? I wouldn't blame him if he punched me.”  
“You think he'd overreact?”  
“Well knowing Tony I think that's guaranteed. Not that I'd blame him, as I said it's not easy stuff to digest. And to be honest I don't know how I would react. Probably the same way.”  
“I'm sure we can talk some sense to him man” Sam suggested.  
“I don't know Sam. It'll take time. And time....I dont have much of that. We need to find Bucky now.”  
“When you say now you mean before lunch or after lunch..” Sam joked.  
“Well if you need to have lunch that much I guess I can wait..” Steve cracked a smile. The mood lightened up much to Sam's pleasure. He leght out a soft sigh.  
“Come on Cap let's not make things more difficult than they already are. One problem at a time. Don't mention anything to anyone just yet. We'll handle this ourselves”.  
Steve nodded in agreement and they went back to the kitchen. Νot long after they parted ways...


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve contemplates the possibility of asking Tony to help him. Consideres the risks and remembers what Bucky means to him

Tony's visit got Steve thinking. On his way back home he took a longer route while he was going over the events of the day and all that Sam had said. Steve couldn't help but think that maybe he was making a big mistake hiding the truth from Stark. He kept telling himself how he could use Tony's help to find Bucky, it would make everythig go faster and maybe easier. But how could he ask that of him knowing what he knew?  
Unless...unless he didn't tell him; unless he didn't mention what he'd found, not until he'd have guaranteed Tony's help anyway. No...that was wrong in so many ways. It meant he would use his friend for his own purposes Steve Hated himself for that thought. He believed in truth and he believed in honesty, and he wasn't about to betray one of his friends, his partners, in favour of another. He once stood for something, he had principles he valued above all else, he wasn't about to throw it all away for a little convenience. And since when was he the type to go for the easy way? No, doing so, the results could be disastrous he didn't want to risk it. And what if Tony found out and tried to stop him or go after Bucky for revenge? He couldn't imagine how Tony would react if he found out that way. If he found out he'd betrayed him. No it would be wrong and he couldn't do it.  
Couldn't or wouldn't?  
There's a chance you might be in the wrong buisness Rogers. 

That's what Natasha had told him in what now felt like a million years ago. Well that was the buisness he was in now and it was one where he had to make tough decisions. One where he'd have to do things he wasn't comfortable with. The sooner he realised that the better. He'd have to just live with the consequences.  
But it wasn't about his comfort or ideals anymore..it wasn't about what was right or wrong. This was about Bucky. His best friend, his childhood friend. Bucky was like a brother to him, in fact he was the only family he had for a very long time and even maybe his only friend. That Is until Howard and Peggy came along. Howard knew him as Captain America and valued him for his ideals. Peggy knew him as the scrawny kid from Brooklyn who had a good heart and would do well. Like Bucky she stood up for him, but in a different way. She always made him strive to be his best self, made him self-critical.  
But before all that he had Bucky. Someone who would stand up for him when no one would. He was the one who'd told him to never let his size be an obstacle to what he stood for. He wanted to protect him but he never told him not to fight back, instead he taught him how to defend himsef -even if that made little difference to the big guys. Bucky had followed him into battle, right back into his captors' claws when he could very well take his leave. He followed him not for some ideal Captain America fought for, but for the virtues his friend Steve was defending, the same man who ignored orders and dangers and came after his rescue. Also Steve knew that Bucky still felt responsible for him, even though he could very well defend himself against bullies now, Bucky went along to make sure he was safe. Steve, being as stubborn as he was, made a habbit of getting into more trouble than he could handle.  
For all those reasons, Steve felt guilty. Guilty that it all resulted into his friend being led back into his torturers' nest, with an even worse fate awaiting him. But it wasn't why he insisted on going after him. No, it ws the same reason that had made him barge into HYDRA's headquarters back in the day. He could  
nt bear to live with Bucky's absence, not when he knew he could do something about it. The times he spent without him around were the most painful, as if a big part of him had left him.  
Bucky someone he owed a lot to, more importantly he ought to save him. Time was valuable if he wanted to find him, safe and unharmed, before he hurt him self or others he'd have to decide fast...No, bigger things were at stake here not just his own morals or principles. Maybe this time he shouldn't be Captain America and instead be Steve, the guy from Brooklyn who would do anything for his childhood friend.

He had a tough choice to make; It all came down to one thing: What was he willing to do for Bucky?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winter Soldier strikes again

The Winter soldier was moving swiftly through the night. There was no one out at that hour and even if there was they'd see nothing but a shadow moving quickly , hitting fast and effectively. The Winter Soldier went into one of the houses, the one at the end of the road, the most remote one. For the greater part of the night nothing else was heard or seen. The screams that came out of the house were concealed by the wind that was howling through the electricity wires. Perhaps someone woke up in the middle of their sleep because of them but then decided that it was nothing, probably the wind, and gone back to sleep. Nothing disturbed the habitants of the neighborhood that night, that's how the Winter Soldier worked. Swiftly, quietly, lethaly....


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve decides to Ask for Tonys help. Hides the truth from him. Tony agrees to help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I'm not an American and i'm so sorry for any horribly wrong descriptions of Whashington DC  
> at first I also had the story unravel in NY for the sole purpose of having Steve wander throught the streets of Brooklyn considering everything that's changed  
> but for the shake of the plot that was cut.

Steve was sitting uneasiy on the couch in Stark's living room, waiting patiently for Tony to appear. They'd spoken on the phone the night before and Steve had insisted on meeting Tony about something important he wanted to discuss with him, so Tony suggested he came by. Of course, he was living on the other side of the city, but Steve had welcomed the opportunity to ride on his bike there.  
He'd gotten up very early that morning and put on his leather jacket and his helmet and enjoyed the feeling of cold morning wind against his face. Passing by various neighborhoods of the city he hadn't seen for a long time, he coulnd't but marvel at the changes. He'd stopped making a big deal out of them a while now, it was something he had gotten used to, but they never stopped surprising him all the time. He didn't dislike the changes, no, he didn't miss per se the time he was coming from. It wasn't nostalgia what he felt. It was just a strange feeling seeing how all the people who had lived there through the years had lived their lives and grown old or died from his time into a very different world.   
Steve had always loved learning about the changes the city underwent. Not all of them were pleasant but it was exciting learning new things everyday. He always liked learning about stuff, even as a kid. He liked learning about sicentific progresses, even though he wasn't into science himself, he'd enjoyed learning new facts and the advances of human society was one of the greatest things he'd caught up with. No doubt there was still a long way to go but the progress from his time were great. And at this day and age he had a lot more he could learn. Only now he had little time to do so.  
That morning He had stopped his motorcycle to take a better look of the sun that was rising above the skyscrappers and was showering them in a beautiful golden light. Steve had taken a deep breath and smiled sadly. Smiled as he remembered a simpler time, one where his best friend wasn't turned into a weapon of mass destruction. Days were he didn't have to lie to one friend to save another.... 

 

Just then Tony Stark came in through the hallway, walking graciously and casualy. The doors opened and he welcomed Steve.  
“Well about time Stark” . Steve rose to greet him.  
“What's the hurry Cap?” Tony said nodding at Steve to sit back. He moved towards the bar and got himself a hint of gin. “Wan't somehting to drink?” He asked Steve, showing the bottle.  
“No, thanks i'm good” Steve replied with a frown.  
Tony smirked. “Don't mind if I do , do you?”. And without expecting an answer he poured ¼ of a glass.  
“Bit early for it isn't it?”  
“Nah. It's never early”. Tony sipped from his glass and turned to Steve. He left the glass back on the bar before approaching Steve. “So”, he said “what did you wanna talk about? Sounded urgent on the phone You got me curious Rogers.”  
“It kind of is yea” Steve stirred uncomfortably in his seat and continued “I uh...didn't tell you the whole sotry back in my appartment the other day.. About what happened, with the Winter Soldier” and all that...”  
“Yeah I kind of figured that out”  
Steve smiled at Tony sadly. “Well , this guy, the Winter Soldier, he was one of Hydra's weapons I think he's...enhanced”  
“Enhanced? You mean like you? I dind't know there were others...”  
Steve felt a knot in his stomach “There wasn't...not with the same syrum anyway. From what I understand Hydra was workig on creating more. One better than Red Skull's that wouldn't..”  
“Degenerate anyone who took it, yes I get it”. Tony interrupted.  
“Yes so this guy apparently is someone I knew...One who was a very dear friend of mine”.  
“What the hell do you mean?”  
“His name Is james Buchanan Barnes. He was my best friend back in the day. We grew up together, we fought together during the war...But I lost him in a mission. Or so I'd thought. Apparently he fell into Hydra's hands. They experimented on him and brainwashed him and ...well he's alive”  
“When you mean alive you don't mean a 90 year old man ...who took you down with his cane right? Caus that would be....”  
“No, Stark, apparently he was put into cryostasis over the years, released for missions that needed his..skills. Don't ask me the details I don't know them. Thing is, he recognised me Tony. He knew me, up on that hellicarrier he didn't kill me when he had the chance. And I need to find him. He escaped Hydra and I gotta find him and help him. I owe him that much”.  
Tony didn't say anything for a while. He just stood there looking skeptical .   
“Tony...”  
“Yeah sorry Cap, I just...it's a lot to take in. So, old friend , brainwashed and turned super-agent in th hands of the fierce evil organization which has been living under Shield's roof for 70 years....ok i'm cool I got this”.  
Steve sighed. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he should go, it was obvious Tony was not in the perfect state of mind to process all this, or maybe it was too risky ,Tony wasn't an idiot, he knew his father made inventions Hydra wanted...maybe even tried to recreate the syrum Steve was given and Hydra went after him...Thing was....he could find out or guess or whatever that HYDRA must have gone after his parents. And it was dangerous.  
“You know what? I'll go . It's ok you don't need to do anything Sam and I are onto this, we can handle it. You don't need any more on your back right now and this is my problem”.  
“Hey no wait. Cap come on. It's me we're talking about I'm alaways fine. And if anyone can help you with that stuff, access files, find info....I can do it.” Tony's half proud smirk didn't convince him.  
“Look..”but stopped midsentence . He just noticed Tony's chest didn't glow anymore.  
“Uh Tony?”  
Stark looked at him “Where's that glowy thing from your chest? Is it supposed to be gone?”  
Tony rolled his eyes and let out a disapproving sigh. “Yes Cap it's supposed to be gone. It's an arc reactor not a “glowy thing”.   
“What about the sharpnel? Is it safe?”  
“I am touched by your interest in my well-being you know”.  
“Whatever”.  
Tony took a deep breath and waited for a second, cogilating his response. “I had a surgery. I removed the shrapnel.It was no big deal. Now I don't need the reactor anymore”. He was looking down not at Steve when he said that. He went back to the bar and took another sip of his drink nervously.  
“What about the suits? Can you still operate them? Is that why you destroyed them?”  
“No it wasn't that. And yes I can, the core is in them I just...I chose not to use them again...for a while...long story”  
“Yes, you keep saying”.   
Tony smiled and shook his head. “So, what do you need from me? Don't you think the guy would be better in government hands or..”  
“No absolutely not. Tony he's ..”  
“He's killed people Cap. He's dangerous”  
“He was manipulated Tony. He was brainwashed he wasn't himself, he wasn't in control. HYDRA's lies is all he has knownhe has just managed to be free of them for a little while now for the first time in years. There' s been no murders, nothing. He escaped them that's who he's trying to hide from. He saved me..”  
“Saved you?” Tony asked.  
“Yes we fell, in the water after the carriers were destroyed. I was unconcious and he pulled me out. Tony he needs help, not be locked up and trialed. We can decided all that later but right now he needs help. My help. And he deserves to know what's happened to him, I can't imagine how something like tha must feel like”.  
“I can” Tony said in a whisper that Steve barely heared. He sighed again condesendingly “Alright Rogers if that's what you think you should do, you're the boss. Just tell me what you need me to do.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I'm sure. What good are the Avengers for if we can't at least help each other out? Uh...though you know that's off the grid i'm doing this as a personal favour ok?. Maybe he is better in our hands at least for now.”  
Tony didn't say much for a few moments, just paced around the living room twice considering everything that had been said. Eventually he spoke in fake carefree voice. “Anyway i'm staying off the action for a while, that's why I took the vacation, I don't care what you do just be careful...and then he added very softly that the words barely reached Steve: “Besides I'm working on a new project right now..maybe I won't have to wear the suits again...”  
“What do you mean?”  
Tony realised he'd been talking louder than he probably thought he was and hurried to change the topic. “Never mind I ...uh...it's not the right time for this. Now...tell me what you need”  
Steve sighed and gave him one last suspicious look. It was partly a sigh of relief. Even though he argued with Stark a lot, Steve always felt a bit strange being around him due to his friendship with Howard and even Peggy. When he'd first been informed that Howard Stark had gotten married and had a kid he was very happy for him and when the time came for Tony to come in he'd had high expectations. Well not too high considering everything he heard in the news, but he expected him to be...different. Maybe more serious . Maybe Steve eroniously felt he'd meet a new version of Howard. He was so desperate at that time for familiarity, everythng was so new and different that the thought of having a familiar face around maybe gave him false expectations. Or maybe it was just that Tony had an attitude towards him from the beginning that annoyed Steve. He didn't realise it at first ; he understood his angle.   
It couldn't have been easy growing up with a father who kept talking about Captain America and had his mind on inventing things most of the time. Steve eventualy had come to realise most of Tony's anger towards him was just spite because of his father. He couldn't blame him. Things got better between them however. He himself learned to be more patient with Tony and Tony's spite Eventualy became less evident. He wasn't a kid anymore he was a grown man who knew he had to put everything aside if he wanted to be a good team player.   
However it did take Steve a while to get over the fact that Tony Stark was who he was. Not his father and not someone he himself expcted to be. It took him a while to get over that tingling sensation of responsibility towards Tony. Honestly, that went away quite fast he could handle himself.  
But the questions still remained....What was going on with Tony? He always believd he was a very resilient individual, self reliant to a fault, arrogantly self-confident. He had changed, he looked like he was expecting something to happen at every moment. He was...jumpy... But he never said anything; all the events with the Mandarin, Tony never called for help either -though it wouldn't have done much good since they were also going through a crisis at that point back in DC.  
What was it about them two that prevented them from asking for help when they needed it? Steve knew they both had good reasons concerning the events that had occurred, but even if it weren't for these reasons, he knew it would take long for both of them before they admited they couldn't handle things alone.   
Alone.  
They weren't alone thought, were they? They had the Avengers, they had their friends. Or maybe the Avengers needed to work on their communication and team skills...It was obvious they weren't as close as they thought or should be....They'd have to be more united in the future if they were to face bigger threats successfully. Sure, Shield was gone but the Avengers remained, a safety net for humanity to count upon. How could they take on protecting it if they couldn't help each other? If they couldn't trust each other?  
Steve made a mental note to himself when this was all over, to propose more team training. From experience he knew that bonding became easier through training and it was easier to create a common rhythm. They needed to become a team ready for whatever came their way, a team that stood united.  
“Hey Cap, helloo?? Does Rogers copy?”  
Steve raised his head to see Tony looking at him jokingly, waving a hand before him.   
“I mean If you wanna just hang around here all day be my guest but you should know i”m a busy man. I have...stuff to do”.  
“Yeah sorry Tony. I got distracted.”  
“Yes I figured that out. So....Are you going to tell me how you think I can help you with your buddy?”

Steve nodded and started explaining...


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky takes a step closer to the truth

James was walking unnoticed in the streets of the city. It was twilight now and some coulds were emerging from the horiszon looking dark; the city was covered in a variety of deep colours, orange and red where the sun had set a while ago and from there started a beautiful blue that darkened the further it went from the sun, it was only broken by the soft warmth of the street lights that lit the neighborhood every here and there.   
James, however, noticed none of that, he was far too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice anything else around him, except ofcourse from the usual triggers for danger he had going on, it was more like a sixth sense now, he was aware of movements and sounds but he barely noticed anything else. He was mentaly going over and over the details of his plan...Everything had to work perfectly tonight. It might be the only chance he got so he had no room for mistakes tonight. And he never made mistakes.....almost.  
Earlier that day he'd come up with a clue, a name that would help him get started on his mission. He remembered some people who were bound to know exactly what was done to him, they might even know more names, who he could go after next and who was on top of the organization, so he could climb and reach them. Several faces from his past had emerged the day before while he was calming his mind -as he made habit of these days- so he could put his thoughts in order and his memories that jumped rudely and without warning or background , pestering him while he was trying to sleep. So when he saw the faces he managed to link them to names eventualy and remember some foggy details. All he had to do next was gain access to a computer and check their validity, put them all together and find what he was looking for.  
So he went to the nearest public library to do his research. He was lucky they didn't have a metal detector, so his arm went unoticed. Turned out it wasn't as easy as he'd thought to find these guys. They were people from way back in his past. In fact they were people who were present during his transformation. A time he didn't remember a lot of and he didn't want to. All of the memories of that time he'd tried to accesss were too painful so he usualy avoided them. But it was necessary this time to go through them in painstacking detail if he wanted to complete his mission. There was no other way.  
These people were hard to find mostly because they were previous Nazi or KGB members who'd come to the US after the war ended and tried to start over, under different identities. The american government had brought in german and russian scientists or agents or generaly useful to the government people and helped them rebuilt a life here in return for information, skills, knowledge, cooperation..The fools, James thought. They all thought they were so clever never to stop and think that maybe some of these people were planted there....  
The fact remained, James knew their original names not any of their assumed IDs so he had no way of knowing where they lived or who they'd become. Even though Hydra's files were out in the open now any mention of these people had already been destroyed way back in the day. All evidence of their once existance was gone. But there were more ways he could get what he wanted. It would be hard and time-consuming but he could mayby find at least one of them. Zimmer.  
Alec Zimmer was A Young german scientist who had joined the forming then, KGB after the end of WWII. It was the only promising place for such a man , what with his past assossiation with the Nazis being a downside to getting a job , when KGB was recruiting he saw the golden chance. He could give up information and knowledge in exchange for a job and a chance to practice science with the best. Zimmer did not connect to any political parties. He didn't care for their ideals, his own pursue was science. He looked for the best place to practice it, study it, experiment and explore it.   
He was newly assigned when James remembers him. It's not much but he can clearly see his face when he closes his eyes, it was during one of his first times strapped onto the chair -at the time it hurt his body it wasn't a pillowed one like the one they used these days- after all the brainwashing he'd gone through. He was almost wiped then and he was about to get tested for the syrum again. The young man was staring at him with intimidation, enthusiasm and wonder all together. As the process went by it was all replaced by sheer excitement, for the result , which later gave its place to horror and eventualy a hint of pitty , pretty much the same time James' screams started.   
He probably wasn't in the whole thing for the tortures of the subjects, James remebered him wispering things like “Isn't there another way? Maybe I can try and find a less....painful way. I'm sure I can if you let me..” that were brutally or indifferently cut off almost immidiately. These people never cared about the subject unless it provided results. With Each test , each time on that chair James' mind became more and more blank. All he could think about was the pain. Eventually he stopped thinking of ways to escape, he stopped hoping, remembering..he stopped feeling. Eventually the man's protests reduced, and James stopped noticing them. Eventually he let the pain take over, turn to hate and he'd endure those moments only with images of what he would do to each and everyone of these people if he ever broke loose. Each and every one of them....

He'd find them all.....James' mind came back to the present and he soon discovered he'd reached his destination. ..


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes through th Winter Soldier files. Feels sorry for Bucky and finds the names of the people Bucky is after

Tony was sitting comfortably in his lab, looking into information about the Winter Soldier. Now that all Hydra's and Shield's files were leaked, it wasn't difficult for him to aceess these files. Not that it was impossible before, because let's face it he's Tony Stark, but it added an extra easiness to the whole process.  
It wasn't as promising as he'd thought though. Most of the files were corrupt, coded, in russian or missing. What did he expect, most of them excisted before digital filing and were probably coded or destroyed way before Shield got ahold of them. Hydra knew how to keep its secrets even from its own people. There was very few he could find, most about the time KGB got its hands on The Asset as the guy was usually reffred to. Asset 241, project The Winter Soldier. Highly classified. Almost all in Russian. No problem, he'd have J.A.R.V.I.S. translate them in minutes.   
He thoroughly avoided looking into mission files, they were a) irrelevant and b) not something he liked to read. So many people dead, just because they were a threat to HYDRA, and to that man, the Winter Soldier, they were just “misisons” or “targets” So many known insidents had been caused by HYDRA during history as he came to realise, he didn't really want to look into them, not right now.   
So, he decided to go as back in the beginings of the Soldier as he could. Chances were the guy would try to find the people responsible for what had happened to him first. He wouldn't risk going to any current Hydra agents hiding right now, since he'd still be afraid of being caught, so he'd try to get it all straight from the beginning. Just like Steve had suggested.  
At least thats's what he would do...  
*********************************************

The more he read about the procedures and the process, the more his pitty for the Winter Soldier grew. What a terrible fate, what a terrible way to live and how aweful to be brought back into conciousness only to realise you've been manipulated, handled, muredered hundreds of innocent people without realising what you were doing. Yes, he felt sorry for him. Having himself been in a position similar to his he knew how nausiatingly dreaful that realisation was. He was once manipilated too and it was one of the worst and traumatizing experiences anyone could have, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself it wasn't his fault, he never stopped feeling guilty. He couldn't even begin to imagine the horror that man would have felt when it first hit him. Revenge would defintely be on his mind, first and foremost. Steve was right the guy needed help,not only for his shake but even maybe for others', anyone who got in his way...  
As he was considering all that, suddenly he saw it. Right there in the files JARVIS had just sent him, the dates he had him cross-check. That was The clue he needed.   
There were two guys that could still be alive today of the ones originaly working on the Winter Soldier project, an Alec Zimmer and a Wolf Lars. All he had to do was find if they were both still alive, where they lived and figure out which one of them was a most plausible target...  
“JARVIS, I need you to find me some names, run the government assigned Ids between the years 1955-1969 and check them with the photos of these men I just sent to the archive. I'm looking for people similar in age and appearance, whose ID was published in between those dates”  
As you wish sir. Jarvis' reply came quickly.  
Then he saw something else, that made his blood freeze There it was in the news... He had various programmes running on names -code names, people's names, addresses etc- reporting any referances to them and one of them had just popped out. It was from last night's news. A murder. It was a former CIA agent , as he found out, that served secretly under the KGB for more than 4 years, during the Phase II of the Winter Soldier. He was definitely connected to Bucky's escape. Probably the first victim of the trail of revenge the Soldier had coming.   
He had to call Steve. He had to let him know what he'd found...


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Steve prepare to pay Bucky a visit

Sam I can't ask you to come with me this is my problem “ Steve's voice came from the bathroom.   
Sam was seated on Steve's couch in the living room, looking exasperated. He'd come in only a few minutes ago, once Steve told him the news about the lead Tony had found on Bucky. The first one was encouraging, he'd found a name that was a positive match to one of the guys in the photo of Bucky's file, Alec Zimmer.   
The secone one wasn't so encouraging. It was a murder of a retired agent who was udercover for the US government in the KGB during the Cold War. The guy was linked with some shady names at the time including that of Zola, he had infiltrated a KGB science facility working there as a guard, protecting it, pretendin to give information about the US facilities. It wasn't difficult for Tony to make the link to Bucky. It was obvious now that Bucky was gathering clues for the people that were involved in his “transformation”. Was he after, revenge? Was he just trying to find out exactly what had happened to him? Who knew. Steve really wanted to believe that that murder was an accident...or a mistake...  
They'd questioned the guard who was severly hurt in the hospital. He said he heard the man with the metal arm asked the ex-agent questions about an old man who had changed identity to live in the US. He remembered the last name the man had adopted now but not much after that because the screams of the ex-agent-the one he was supposed to be protecting- were too much for him to bear so he tried to block all noise. The man with the metal arm had knocked him unconcious before he entered the house and tied him up, leaving him like that on the back side, right under the window, so he could listen , but not see. On his way out the man knocked him out for good.   
The guard didn't remember how, many of his injuries were inflicted upon him. He remembered the man hitting him hard in order to take him out of the fight when they first encountered each other, and he remembered waking up tied up. Then, he remembered the same man knocking him on the back of the head unconcious but that was it . However he was hospitalized for an almost fatal bullet to the chest. He was wearing a vest, but gun used to fire at him was no common weapon, it managed to even pierce through the vest and hit him.  
All of that raised Steve suspicious. If Bucky was after revenge it made sense he wouldn't kill the guard because he had nothing against him, but then again what did he have against the ex-agent? For all Steve knew, the guy was clean. So What if HYDRA agents had found out that Bucky was after the truth and were trying to cover it up? Or what if they were also tracking Bucky and were following his footsteps? Maybe they went to get rid of the evidence after Bucky was gone thats why they killed the agent. They probably didn't care much for the guard because he had no intel, and they found him beat up and unconcious already so they didn't bother....Or maybe that would even make a good story against the Winter Soldier if he ever came public with what had happened to him, decrease his liability...  
He didn't know what to assume and at that point he couldn't care. All that mattered was that they had found the current address and name off the old guy Bucky was asking about. Former Alec Zimmer now living under the name of Anderson. He was one of Zola's students in Sweitzerland -originaly from Austria-a promising scientist who was supposedly killed during the war.   
They had decided to act that very night, find the old man before Bucky would, keep him safe and see if he would appear.   
Sam had insisted on them making a detailed plan first, wait a little longer before they barged in and went after the Winter Soldier but Steve was adamant about not wanting to wait any longer.. They were racing time and they had none to loose. The more they waited the more danger Bucky exposed himself to And it wasn't just that.... The longer they waited , they risked a higher number of victims. Steve couldn't let any more people die. Despire what they'd done or how much they deserved what they had coming, they should be brought to justice, that was the right thing to do. Most importantly though, he didn't want his friend to be a killer. Yes, he'd killed before, but not while he was his old self, not while he had control over himself and knew what he was doing. Bucky never loved violece or killing even if he had to do it some times, during their few missions together. Even then he was hesitant to kill blatantly without trying to just leave the opponents unconcious first. He didn't want his friend to do something now, that he would regret forever later. He had a second chance, the chance to start over and murder wasn't the ideal way to do so. That's why he desperately hoped there was another explanation about last night.  
Once Sam saw there was no way of convincing Cap to back off, he decided to join him. Expected, Steve had thought. He knew the whole time that If it came to this Sam would follow the mission through till the end. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try to convince him not to. It was dangerous, Bucky was confused and angry and probably wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone who got in his way. And this was his loose end not Sam's. It was a risk he was willing to take and he willingly took when he started looking for his friend. Sam had no obligation. Besides, ....He felt it in his gut that Bucky would avoid hurting him too badly. How about Sam though? Until the whole thing with the murder was cleared he couldn't let Sam risk his life.  
“Cap I told you once I'm coming and that's it I've no intention to argue over this. Now get out here and let's go over the “plan” once again...” he emphasized on the word plan. He continued mubling somehting along the lines of “if you can call this a plan....it's more like go in and wait to get jumped, hoping for the best... I don't even know why we're making plans anymore...they never work anyway”.  
“Well Sam, at least we can say we tried” Steve's head came out of the bathroom door. A half smile was drawn on his face. He disappeared again behind the door.   
“So what are you planing to do once we find him? IF we find him. You know he won't welcome us....probably will try to kill us...”  
“I know Sam, but the least I can do is try. I don't know I'll just try to convince him were not the bad guys, that we're on his side and we can help him remember.”  
“Well I hope you know what you're doing Cap. I'm with ya you know that.But i'll be ready to step in if things go south. Ok? “  
“Alright you got it. Thanks again Sam. I..”  
“Don't mention it Cap. Just dont die out there”  
Steve didn't intent to. He knew Bucky wouldn't hurt lethaly, him but he had to be prepared anyway.  
“Cap he's dangerous he killed the guy, I mean you gotta get to him soon or else the secret services-ALL secret services- will be onto him and after him.” Tony had warned him on the phone. And he was right. Anyway, wether it was Bucky who killed'd the agent or HYDRA, Bucky's name would be linked to it and the more murders he had in his lodger now that he was concious, the harder it would be to defend him in a potential court.

Well no point thinking about questions that we don'thave the answers to yet. It would all be revealed soon...he hoped. They just had to find him. Tonight.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky goes into Zimmer's house finaly. He has an unpleasant encounter with a strange man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was Agents of Shield and Ultron influence, I knew the'd put Enhanced in so I decided to have HYDRA sent one of their Enhanced to stop Bucky from learning the truth

, free life somewhere hidden where the special forces wouldn't find him? Should he try and regain his old self, become Bucky again? Or maybe I can do whatever the hell I want... James sighed, at least he had a name now. That had to count for something... He hated these thoughts. He couldn't afford having his mind in them now he should focus. Yes...focus on the goal!

 

********************************************************************************  
James swiftly and quietly entered the house. It was all dark and that worried him. It could only mean two things, either the man didn't live there anymore, or he was expected. But how could he be expected?   
Before he could even consider that possibility any better, his eyes went dark and felt an arm falling heavily on the back of his head. He lost sight for a while, the feeling of the hard wall on his hands made him realise he had been tossed to the wall from the urge of the hit . He was dizzy, -it wasnt usual for a hit to be that effective on him-, he tried to turn and take a look at his attacker but lost his balance and fell on his knees.   
Before he could get up he felt a pierceing pain, this time on his ribs which forced him to fall entirely on the floor. James grunted. He didn't like how this evening was turning out, he had a job to do he couldn't get distracted by some guard. He was sure the attacker was the old man's guard or something. He wondered how a simple guard could manage take him out of the fight for so long, it must be because he was unprepared. His attention was on the old man not in the present.   
This time he saw the third hit coming towards him, the man's leg ready to kick him once more, but it was blocked by James' right arm. He hit the leg as hard as he could with the left arm and rolled away from where its owner stood. The distance gave him the chance to kick the opponent on the shin and that was a good enough blow to buy him the time to get up. His head wasnt spinning anymore, his orientation had returned and his eyes were getting accustomed to the dark. Just in time he saw his opponent attacking once more, this time he was aiming for his waist, roaming towards him in order to push him down.   
James hit before the man could attack. Elbow to the ribs, forcing him to step to the side and double down in pain. Another chance to hit, James' elbow met the man's left ear forcing him to fall the ground dazzled. He appeared to have been knocked unconcious but James knew better than that.   
He avoided approaching very closely and instead chose to observe his opponent now that he had the chance to do it. The figure on the floor was large enough but no muscular. Yet he had incredible strength as if he was enhanced, there was no way a couple of blows from a normal guy would have managed to effect James this much. He didn't seem to be well trained either. His movements were fast enough to avoid hits but they werent methodical as a trained agent's would be. He hit like a rock, avoided attacks instead of blocking them....So that meant he was strong yes, maybe enhanced strong, but he wasn't impervious to pain, he hurt like a normal person. James smiled. He knew how to cause pain...  
Slowly he approached the man that lied on the ground and extended his arm. Then came the attack from him, or at least what was intended as one because of course james expected it. His opponent went for a headbut but his forehead met James' metal fist which made his head bounce against the floor.   
With a bloody nose and a hazy head he rolled away from James and tried to stand up. He was gasping for breath. He tried to take a steady stance but his balance was off so he had to move from one foot to the other. Fists raised before his eyes, the man prepared to face James once more. Sheer determination in his eyes, though his pain was obvious. James looked at him deeply in the eyes but dind't attack.   
“Who sent you?” he asked instead, as heavily and intimidatingly as he could. “Tell me and I will spare you. Who made you so strong? Were are the ones that sent you?”  
The man only stared and said nothing. His eyes looked empty.  
He's not like me. But he's not regular either .James thought. If the man was controlled like he'd been James knew he had to fight him with all his might, because the man wouldn't stop at anything. That'show it was, he had to finish the mission, but it also meant that he didn't know what he was doing. And James knew very well how that was like. He didn't want to risk getting lethal but If the man was there to kill him what was his choice? And who'd sent him anyway? Why was he there? Where there others?   
If anything, at least his opponent's presence meant he was on the right path , the old man must have known he was coming and wanted protection. Or HYDRA sent the man to protect Zimmer so he couldn't get his hands on him. It must be Hydra, he was sure it was. No one else experimented on people like that.  
He couldn't waste any more time speculating. If they were sent for him he'd fight them. If they were sent to protect the old man he'd fight them. He wouldn't let anything get in his way, not now that he was so close.   
His stance changed and became aggressive. He met his opponents eyes and looked at him fiercly contemplating his next move.  
Then he attacked....

 

There was an exchange of quick and effective moves and hits between the two. Moves of different style but equal agility and strength. However, soon the other man became tired and slower. James' endless storm of attacks made him weary though they didn't seem to affect James. He was after all enhanced in his physique and stamina.   
Soon the man's punches became slow enough for James to catch, and so he did. He twisted the wrist he was holding and the bones cracked. The man screamed and lifted his free right fist to reciprocate, only to have that one also blocked by the metal arm. The grip on the man's wrist tightened. James twisted it from left to right, thumb facing downwards. That forced the man to back of and kneel from the pain. While he was down James kicked his exposed ribs and then his stomach.   
Soon the man was on the floor cornered beside the wall, grunting and breathing heavily. James stood above him menacingly. He was also breathing heavily but was in a better condition than his opponent. He had a bloody lip and a slit on his right cheeckbone dripping some blood on the cheek and chin, the man's extra strong punches had managed to make him bleed after all.   
Looking at James, the man made one last attempt to get away and tried to stand up aiming for his legs, only to be pushed back by James, who then proceeded to grab his head. He hit the head against the flood a few times until the man was finaly left unconcious. He'd survive but he'd be out long enough for James to do his buisness.  
He got up sawying and tried to make his feet stable. Taking a deep breath he tried to see if there was anyone else ready to attack . Once he made sure he was alone, he let a sigh slip from his lips. That was it. He was going to find out the truth. There was nothing else in his way.  
James headed to the kitchen …..  
He looked around the saw nothing. It was a small kitchen, no place for anyone to hide. And then he noticed it. A patio, a small veranda behind the kitchen's second door. He opened the door and stepped outside.

“So you came”.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky interrogates Zimmer but soon Steve joins the party and ruins it for him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this to be a Civil War kind of tie in. They'd said Bucky was going to be crucial for the plot, I didn't imagine how much at the time. Anyway I wanted to establish that he would be considered as a very dangerous individual in the future.

ng fate as he was expecting to see James in his patio ready to kill him, for many years.  
“We'll see”. Came the short reply.  
Bucky didn't want to kill him. Not yet anyway. He wanted information more than anything else. And this man could provide it to him.  
“First I want you to tell me everything you know. Tell me exactly what was done to me and how I can undo it.”  
The man made a gaugling sound. It took James a while to realise it was laughter. Or at least a chuckle. He became infuriated. “What”? He barked at him.  
“You can't undo it” said the man as soon as he stopped laughing. “What's done is done, you can't bring back your old self, you can't become who you were and you probably can't undo all that brainwashing. If they get their hands on you again, they will still be able to control you as if nothing has happened.”  
With every word Zimmer said James became more and more agitated. How could he tell him that was was done to him was irreplacabe? How could he tell him he had no hope? That he was at the mercy of the remaining Hydra?   
“Shut up” he shouted desperatly. “This can't be true there must be something I can do, my mind is mine. MINE . I'm in control now and I intent to keep it that way”.  
“Well good for you, just make sure none of them finds you. I'm sorry. I truly am”  
James barked something in Russian. Probably some curse, the man understood it and chuckled sadly again.  
“Tell me exactly what was done to me. Everything that isn't mentioned in the files. I want to know everything that's linked to me, procedures, protocoles, names, all the technology that was used on me.”  
“You think you'll find a way to help yourself if you look into these things? I promise you , you won't”  
“Stop saying that. Stop. Just tell me.”  
“You know....I don't regret being part of your creation..”  
James' anger flamed at the sound of these words. He felt his gut stirring and his breath became faster. He clenched his fists. The man noticed that and then he looked James in the eyes.  
“I don't. I feel guilty and sorry for what you went through, i've been feeling that every single day of my life. For what you had to endure, how I could have helped you and I didn't. Your eyes filled with pain, looking at me so desperately and helplesly, despite your silence, still haunt me till today. One would think you get over such things but you don't. Ever.”   
He nodded softly and tilted his head low. Then he took a deep breath , raised his head again and faced James   
“However, If I went back I'd do it again. I feel shame for what I did to a fellow human being but I can't help but feel pride over what we've achieved. I feel pride over what I helped my country achieve. You were the top scientific progression of the time. A super soldier. Stil are you know...A higher human being, better than any of us, imrpoved, practicaly perfect. Isn't this what humanity has been looking for for ages? Perfection? How to age slower, be sturdier, stronger, smarter. Davinci's ideal human. And we'd done it. Us. Me. I was part of that, we made history, we broke the barriers.”   
His eyes were now lit with a flame that fitted in the eyes of a young man, his pride was obvious while looking at James.   
“I mean look at you “ he continued admiringly “ You're almost the same as the day I first saw you. We came so close...” he sighed “but then they had to get you into all that military crap. As If that's the only thing an enhanced human can do. War....why do they wage wars? Why are we so petty. We had in our hands the future of human evolution and we wasted it on war. On killing. On fulfilling the idea of one crazy organization that had dellusions of grandeur, when we could do so much more. Imagine all that you, or an army of you-look at me using military language how ironic- could do. The best men and women , leading scientific projects, working longer and better, than anyone else...” he sighed.  
That whole time during Ζιmmer's dellirium, James ' blood was boiling. He was standing there stunnded, unable to do much else than just stand and look at that man blab about shit he had no clue about. Was he that conceited? All he wanted to do was punch him until he had no life in him, take that pride out of his eyes, wipe it out for good. He wanted to cause him pain.   
But he didn't. Instead, he realised he had to play along. If he didn't he'd never get the information he wanted, and right now that was his priority, not revenge.  
He mellowed his voice as much as he could and sai: “I get it.”  
The man paused his rant and looked at him inquisitively, even though a bit shocked. “You do”? He asked with expectation  
“I do. I get why you did it. You weren't in it for the torture. Or for me to be controlled. You wanted me to be free I know that. If you had your hands on that syrum and tcontrol over all hose techniques you'd make more people like me. As many as you could, and you'd do it for the shake of humanity, not some old ideal or a couple of lines on the map. I get you”, he said, hating himself in each word, dropping poison in every syllable. He 'd play along, but he didn't have to like it.  
“Exactly” said excitedly the old man. “of course you get it. You're better. You're not petty as a normal human would be. Your mind if higher already, you see ahead of your time. Yes...You're a gift to humanity, you were always meant to be”..  
These words made James jump. His hand twiched and clenched his fist even harder. He'd heard those words before. That phrase. On that chair, with Pierce, time and again. His anger became almost uncontrollable, but then in his mind he remembered the face of Captain America. The man he'd seen standing defensless opposite him, insisting he was his friend. Well if he ever wanted to be that person again, that man in the Smisthonian, a man Captain America was willing to die for , he'd have to control himself. His rage. He had the old man that close....  
“I do. Do you know there's more of us? Were more of us”  
Zimmer's eye lit up with joy. “There were”?  
“Yes, it was all during the Cold War, KGB tried to replicate all that. They were'nt so successful at first. The....samples, were unstable. But eventually they did manage to make a few people like me. They 're all gone now. They took them out once the war ended, didn't want the US get their hands on them”.  
Zimmer 's sorrow and fury were evident. “How could they? Why would they?” was all he could say. “Best of humanity...”  
“That' the thing, your work there...all of your work, was unparalleled. It was the best. I was the perfect sample. I want to know what you did exactly , see were the others went wrong. You did an amazing job isn't it a pity if it dies with you?”  
“yes yes.... a pitty. It was quite ingenious actually. You know the syrum was tough to create. We tried our best to make the same that Captain America was given. We had to make do with whatever was spared. All the muscle training technology that prepared you for it was brilliant too. My, we were unstoppable, ideas flowed and flowed. You were to be better than Captain America. Even more Improved.”  
James listened carefuly, his mind filling with all the information he could store. And he could store a lot. He'd managed to break the old man and he was telling him everything he wanted to know. All he had to do was keep him going....

The more James heard form the old man the more his stomach stirred. A lot of the memories were coming back, more alive than ever and he tried very hard to stifle his pain, his anger, his frustration. He clenched his fists and bit his lips again and again in the effort not to scream or rip the old man's head off. All that torment he went through for so long, so many people he had killed....  
It was true, Zimmer had confirmed it, he was Barnes. Or had been at some point in his life. He couldn't remember much of that time now. Almost nothing, faint memories and images he couldn't place anywhere or anytime specific. The thing is, he'd had a life, he was a good person, he'd fought beside Captain America and he'd fallen heroicaly, only to be in the hands of criminals and become a monster....  
A murderer. A weapon.   
Well , that weapon had a job to finish. He'd get revenge, he'd take out all those scums that had “handled” him over the years. He would finish the job and destroy HYDRA for good. That's the only way he'd ever be safe, the only way others would be safe. HYDRA was an evil in this world they'd done so much wrong. He didnt care if it would be the last thing he would do.  
Zimmer kept going. He went on and on about the syrum and James' possibilities. He's a complete lunatic, he thought. Illusions of a greater humanity... What did he think they'd achieve? Humanity had problems as it was imagine adding superhumans to the game.... He had suffered because of the dellusions of a few conceited fools.   
He took a deep breath and tried to sound calm, though the tremble in his voice betrayed his frustration:  
“Tell me about my arm. How does it work?”   
The man sense his tone and stopped. “How does it work” he mouthed as if he was talking to himself. He seemed lostin his thoughts for a moment.  
“Whatdo you want to know?”  
“Whatis is made of exactly....How did you make it work on me..”  
“Can you remove it?”  
“I didn't say that”  
“You were going to,”  
“YOU DON”T KNOW” James roared. He could bearly hold his temper and he was looking the fight with his patience. However, he soon composed hmself, took a deep breath and continued:  
“I only want to improve it. Make it indestructable. If you don't tell me how it works then I won't know how to fix it”.  
“Yes yes. Improve it. Not remove it. You're a specimen. Perfect amongst the imperfects. You can't destory perfection”  
“Just tell me” James said impatiently.  
Zimmer looked at him seriously. He tried to focous onto him, his eyes blinked a lot before he could manage to focuse on James for good. He leaned towards him and whispered something, forcing James to lean towards him to hear better.  
“I can't let you destroy what we created. I'm sorry for your pain, but you're our greatest creation, I'm proud and I will not let you tear appart my legacy.”  
“You old fool. I belong to myself now. You experimented on human beings, you brainwashed us you controlled us. You made us do your ditry work”  
“I never made any of you do anything, all I wanted for you was to help humanity”  
“YOU....You.....You were all Franskenstein” James said trying to keep calm, his voice and body were trembling in anger “and I am your monster”...he added calmly. He hadn't regained control, no. He'd lost it. Anger overcame his body like a paralytic, his body complied, his mind filled with furious calmness. He smiled.  
The light in the man's blue eyes went off. Despite his initial composure, fear overcame him. He was staring into James eyes and all he saw was deadly apathy. He couldn't help but trembe in the face of death himself...  
James wrapped his metal fingers around his neck and squized. He leaned and whispered in the man's ear “When you're all gone, I wil be free to start over. I will try to make a life out of what you're left me. But know this...You have failed...”  
The man's eyes opened wide, wether it be from the frustration or the lack of oxygen.

“You can still start over Bucky. But you can't do that by killing someone”.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve tried to stop Bucky from making a terrible mistake. They fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Steve, poor Bucky.

James' heart skipped a beat at the sound of a familiar voice behind him. He turned and he saw Captain America, the same man he'd fouhgt on that hellicarrie, followed by one of the people that were on his team. Steve Rogers. He knew him...once... His expression was determined, like the time he faced him on that carrier. But there was also plead in his eyes, Plead for him not to do what he was about to.  
“What are you doing here?” he asked, still shaken by the fact he hadn't heard them come in. They were still standing at the door, too far from him to stop him. His hand was still squizing, all he had to do was squiz a little harder.  
“I came here to help you Bucky. Please hear me out... You can't start over by killing him ok?”  
“Sure I can. See?”  
“Please Bucky. I'm trying to help I promise you, but if you want to have a life after all this....You can't do this, you gotta let him go”  
“YOU DON”T KNOW WHAT HE DID TO ME” James broke. How could he ask him not to kill somene who'd made him suffer so much? What did he know of his pain? His anger that was now boiling inside him.   
“ You're right I don't “ Steve said calmly, his expression though was full of pain, the man next to him was frowning. “I can only imagine what you've been through, how you feel. But I know that you're not a killer”  
“Tough.”  
“No you're not. The man I knew wasn't a murderer. He was a good man and I know you're still a good man. If you look inside you 'll see that. Yes HYDRA made you do things when you were under their control, but you weren't yourself, you ddnt' know what you were doing , it's not your fault! But now? Now you know. Now you're free. You're free to choose what you want to be, who you want to be. You're free to dictate your own actions. Do you want your first action as a free man to be a murder? Revenge? Do you want to continue their legacy? Their plans for you? Because if you kill this man right now that's what you'll do. Bucky...I”m trying to help....just hear me out...”  
James stood there breathing heavily, looking at the floor, clenched teeth and tears running from his eyes. His head felt like it was about to explode. He knew Steve was right, he felt it in him. He 'd had the same thoughts run through his mind before. But he also wanted to destory that helpless old man that was currently under his mercy. He disgusted him.   
“Bucky..”  
“SHUT UP”  
Steve was now a little closer, his arm extended to him, as a gesture of plead.  
“I can't let you do this”  
“Don't try to stop me”... James said threateningly, his body still trembling He didn't know what he would do but if Steve approached anywhere near him, if he tried to stop him he knew he'd explode. He didn't like people getting in his way, and Captain America was making a habbit of it.  
Steve paused for a second. He looked at him again. He could see the expectation in his eyes, the hope...the fear...fear that he'd do it... But he wanted to do it even though he knewhe'd hate himself if he did. It would be so easy....the man was helpless. You want to make them right? Right about you? DO you want to start your new life with a murder? Then you're no better than the monster they created. In fact you'll have proven you are exactly that. That's what the voice inside of him said. But How could he stop now, he was so close. So close. Then suddenly he looked back at Steve...  
Steve saw it. That look in Bucky's eyes, the look that had haunted him since their very first encounter on that roof. The look of a scared, captured animal, scared, angry and pleading. As if he was tryin to tell him that he needed his help. As if he was trying to let him know he wanted him to stop him.   
Steve made a discreet move towards him, barely noticable, but that grasped James' attention. Suddenly his look hardened and became threatening again.  
“Bucky...” Steve uttered once more, softly  
“I said...SHUT UP” James yelled and this time he plunged to Steve, grabbing him from the waist and throwing him on the floor. Steve grunted as his body bounced on the tough floor, he pushed Bucky off him and tried to stand on his feet. Before he could regain his balance again he felt the pain of the punch James threw and he was once again down , this time face against the floor.   
“Hey” James heard a voice behind him and saw the other man that was with Steve preparing to attack him.  
“Sam don't” Steve yelled but it was too late. James grabbed Sam's extended arm created a hold which took Sam off balance and stopped his attack. Then James hit him hard from the side, sending him across the room unconcious. “I don't want your help” he said turning to Steve who was still on his knees, trying to stand up. His voice wasn't threatening this time, it was low and came out with difficulty. He turned his back on them and headed to the staircase of the patio.   
“Bucky no” Steve begged. He was standing up now and he made a step redying to follow him.  
Without turning James said in a final tone “Don't follow me again”.  
And he jumped off the stairs, vanishing in the dark.

 

Steve turned to Sam who had regained counciousness and was still lying down with a grimache of pain all over his face.   
“Are you ok?” Steve asked him worryingly.  
“Been better. I'll be fine Cap. Go after him it's our only chance. Go.”  
Steve made a move to the stairs but turned back to check on the old man who was unconcious, head tilted on his chest.   
“He's alive, he's just out. Watch him Sam”  
“I will now go. And Cap....be careful”.  
Steve nodded and followed Bucky in the dark.

 

It was late at night, the alley was empty and the ground wet from the rain that had fallen not too long ago. The clouds that had appeared from the west earlier that day had gathered into a sudeen and short -lived squall and had now dispersed again.   
Steve's footsteps were heard splashing in the water as he came running into the alley. He was certain that's where Bucky had gone but he couldn't find him. He stopped running and looked around carefuly, all senses heightened. His heart was pounding in his chest but it wasn't from the run. It was from the anticipation. He had come so close and he was about to blow it. He had a lot of arguments prepared for Bucky to hear but once he saw him again he fell appart. He couldn't think well he still couldn't believe after this whole time that he was seeing Bucky in front of him. Every glance at him made it less believable. He was the same man he knew but so different at the same time. That hostility in his eye scared him, he'd never thought he would see it in these eyes. But he had to put all that aside this time and be more effective.  
Suddenly Steve heard a subtle splash above him that could have only be caused by a person. As soon as he turned his head to check, James jumbed off a low rooftop and they both fell down once again.   
'Bucky please” Steve tried to utter before James punched him on the mouth with the back of his fist. Steve felt the hot blood run down his lips. He grabbed James' arm and locked it into his leg , preventing him from moving. “You gotta listen to me first that's all I ask “ He managed to say this time. James was restless though, he rolled to the side his arm was locked and kneed Steve on the ribs, who grunted in pain, loosening his grip. James managed to break free, got up and gave a side pucnh to Steve gaining himself the time to move further away from him and stand several feet behind him.   
“I said I don't want your help. And I told you not to follow me. I don't want to fight you again but if you keep coming after me I will. Final warning”. He turned to leave but Steve spoke again, he was was still down, his clothes wet from the water that was on it. “Wait.” he asked, panting “Bucky I can help. Let me help.”  
“I said..”  
“You dont' want my help yes I heard it the first time. SO what are you planing to do? Kill every person that was involved with your case? Get rid of all HYDRA members?”  
“It's none of your buinsess. And what if I do?”  
“Look, I know you hate them. God knows I do too, we're better off without them, but they should be brought to justice. You can't go around killing people, we have to bring them in, have them trialed..  
“You think I care about that?” James laughed  
“No you don't. You want them to suffer as you did. I understand that. But that's not the way to do it. You'll give them the pleasure of becoming what they wanted you to be. DO you want that? You have the chance ot be free of all the boold. Of that history of killings. IF you let it go. We'll bring them to justice, they'll testify. We need that, you need that. Otherwise you'l be running from secret services your whole life. I can help you start over, we'll have them tell the court what they did to you, we'll have proof, you can be aquitted of the crimes they had you commit and you can have a life with a clean conciousness. I can help you with that, I have friends that can help”  
“Friends? What SHIELD? I know about that too, they were controlled by HYDRA. No thanks. I don't need your help or anyone's. I can handle this...alone.” James turned his back on Steve again and started moving away.  
“But you don't have to” Steve's voice was heard behind him. Stopped.   
Steve saw him hesitate, his body saywed and he waited to see if he'd turn around.

He didn't...


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter.  
> Steve is disappointed and on top of that Stark find out he's been keeping a secret from him and is angry.  
> Later Steve is in for a big surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which i thought the truth about Tony's parents was going to be revealed early on in the film and trigger a lot of Civil war events.  
> I was wrong  
> But anyway I had Tony feels here so I have them unleashed

It was around three in the morning when Steve returend to his appartement, battetered, disappointed and tired as hell.   
He had failed. Bucky was still out there, alone, probably getting himself into deep trouble. Steve sighed and sat on the bed. At least he was certain he'd recognised doubt in Bucky's eyes when he was trying to decide if he'd kill Zimmer or not. The same doubt he saw when he was about to finish him off in that carrier all those days ago. At least he knew he'd gotten to him one way or the other, maybe Bucky would realise he shouldn't go after any more HYDRA people.   
Steved closed his eyes in an attempt to clear his mind, but there was a heay knock on the door.  
He wondered who could it be at this hour. Sam maybe? He'd left Sam in his appartement a long while ago, it couldn't be him. Sam had made sure Zimmer was alright and then went to find Steve, arriving a few moments after Bucky had disappeared for the last time in the dark alley. He insisted on checking on Steve, who was of course fine, his enhanced physique wasn't as sturdy against Bucky's equaly enhanced attacks but he hadn't been hurt badly. They'd parted ways not long after. It was a common decision that they both needed rest before they decided on their next move.  
The bang on the door was head again and Steve rushed to it. He opened door carefuly and in his surprised saw Tony standing in front of him.   
“Tony? What...Are you ok?” he managed to say when he realised Tony was not his usual self. He was quiet and off balance.  
“Are you drunk?” he asked again  
Tony said nothing,but it was obvious he was, he smelled of alcohol and his eyes were blurry and red. He just narrowed his eyes and brought himself up to Steve's level, giving him a good close look. “Did you know Cap?” he finally asked, with an angry expression.  
“Know what? What is going on Tony?” though in his gut he suspected he knew exactly what Tony was asking him  
His reply aggrevated Tony who pushed him, stepping in the appartement at the same time.  
“Did you know how many people your pal has killed for HYDRA? Did you know WHO they were? Did you check HYDRA's, his missions to see the names of his victims?”  
“Tony I...”  
“DID YOU?” Tony roared, leaning dangerously close to Steve who remained silent.   
“ I read the files” he said finaly.  
“Then, “You must have seen two particular names standing out, you would have because it's a name you know well. The name of someone you once called your friend. Someone who admired you and gave you a godamn shield and made you a bunch of godamn equippement. Someone who's son you called your friend, ally, whom you also asked to find the man who MURDERED HIS PARENTS” . Tony's voice rised and he pushed Steve while sayng the last three words.  
Steve didn't resist. “Tony I”m sorry. I'm really sorry”  
“Oh you're sorry? That solves everything then.... Screw your sorry Cap. You were my friend. And you lied to me. You lied about THIS of all thigns. How ? I mean just...how could you look me in the eye and ask me for help when you knew all that? Is that how the great Captain America acts? Is that how noble you are? I can't believe my father talked so much about you and your ideals. But then again you can see he was an idiot we can see that now.”  
“I shouldn't have Tony I know. I hate my self for this. I shouldn't have kept that from you it was wrong , I betrayed your trust and i'm sorry..”  
“STOP BEING SORRY” Tony broke once again. His eyes were now so narrow from anger he could barely see Steve. His mouth ticked .  
There was silence for a moment. Only the sound of Tony breathing heavily was breaking it.  
He had turned his back to Steve who was no looking down as If he was unable to face Tony's angry face. Finaly Steve decided to speak. He started off softly, his voice no louder than a whisper.  
“I can't apologise enough. You dind't deserve this....You deserved to know...”  
“Then why didn't you tell me”? Tony's voice was also low now but it was trembling with rage.  
“I couldn't.i'm not going to insult you by saying I did it so you wouldn't get hurt- but I didn't want you to get hurt like this- I just had to find him Tony he's my friend.”  
“I'm your friend and look how you treated ME”   
“I know. OK? But he's in danger. He wasn't himself Tony he didn't know what he was doing. It was Hydra. You said it yourself, you know how being manipulated is like. He needed my help and fast and I just couldn't risk you knowing the truth...I just couldn't. I swear I was going to tell you once I'd find him”  
“Οnce you'd gotten what you needed from me you mean”  
“I've no excuse for what I did. I didnt want to hurt you I just did what I had to to help him. If I went back I'd to it all again. It was a choice I had to make for his shake and I made it. And Ihave to live with the concequences, I knew that when I made it. And I accept them.” Steve sighed.  
“To hell with your choices. It wasn't yours to make.I had a right to know and you deliberately lied to me. You used me Steve.”  
“Tony, I was worried about your reaction. I was desperate to find him and I couldn't afford loosing your support. It was terrible I know but I couldn't know if you'd still agree to help or if you would even go after him ...”  
“You don't assume about me. OK? You don't get predict my reactions, you don't get to make choices based on assumptions about my reactions. You coudlnt' know how I'd react, I gave you no right to believe I was so petty”  
“Oh Come on!” Steve was now shouting himself “How else would you react? How would anyone react? And to be honest you're pretty stubborn yourself...i just... Ugh. I'm sorry.” he said once again  
Tony punched him. Steve saw It coming but he made no effort to stop the punch. He deserved it. The pain shortly overcame the guilt he felt. He welcomed it.  
“SCREW YOUR SORRY. You had no right” Tony said intensly. He gave him one more disgusted look and headed to the door. But he didn't leave. Instead he turned and added with a broken voice:  
“You know what makes things worse...If you'd told me that from the beginning....If you had explained...I would have understood. You know I've been manipulated my self in the past I know how that feels. It would have taken me a while maybe yes, but I would have helped you eventualy. If only you had come clean. Little did I know I'd be manipulated again...by my friend” and with that he left, banging the door behind him  
Steve was left alone, standing were he was. It was over. He'd screwed up, It was official. At least he didn't have to lie anymore. He didn't know if Tony would ever forgive him -he eventually would he hoped he would- and he didn'tknow how things would go from now on. What that would mean for the Avengers, for the two of them.  
What a terrible day, he thought. He didn't manage to help Bucky, Tony found out the truth...nothing went as planned. He went back to his bed and let a deep sigh out. He couldn't deal with this not now, not tonight. He needed to rest and let his mind clear. Tomorrow would be a day for making amends. For new beginings. All he wanted to do right now was to forget all about that day.  
It was about 5 in the morning when Steve woke up, feeling unsettled. He thought he'd heard a knock on his door but he wasn't sure.  
He went to check. There it was, definitely a knock.   
So much for rest today , he though. Was it Tony? Did he decide he wanted to shout at him more? Steve's mind was still foggy from sleep so he didn't really give it much though. Maybe it was the neighbour....  
“Who is it?” he asked sleepily. There was no reply. The knock repeated  
He opened the door for the second time that night, having his fist ready and he stood there speecheless. His sleep wore off right away and he felt wide awake.  
Bucky was standing at his doorstep, looking grim and pathetic, despite his intimidating figure. He still had bruises from their fight earlier. He looked at Steve steadily and decidedly, thought with some doubt and he hesiatntly said:   
“I need your help”

Steve paused for a moment, looking in his friend's desperate eyes, trying to determine if what he was seeing was real.

Then smiled and opened the door widely.


End file.
